Thirty-eight staff members from 19 MCPS schools received Best and Brightest awards from the NAACP Parents’ Council. They were chosen by parents and students for going above and beyond in their job responsibilities. Each honoree received a certificate. This year’s honorees are:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Sharif Robinson, assistant principal
James Hubert Blake High School
Sandra Zinkievich, music teacher
Cindy Loveland, social studies teacher
Michael Kelley, English teacher
Beth Thomas, assistant principal
Erin Cheung, science teacher
Joseph Caulfield, teacher
Briggs Chaney Middle School
Bethlehem Beru, counselor
William H. Farquhar Middle School
Joel L. Beidleman, principal
Burning Tree Elementary School
Mary Kunst, 4th grade teacher
Cedar Grove Elementary School
Pamela Cromwell, 4th grade teacher
Albert Einstein High School
Ellen Daniels, ESOL teacher
Carla Mackey, resource teacher
Marsha “Marcy” Ralph, special education teacher
Colin Black, counselor
Ellen Daniels, ESOL teacher
William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School
Erin Del Balzo, kindergarten teacher
Kimberly Kiszka, 1st grade teacher
Greencastle Elementary School
Nora Liz Collins, staff development teacher
Neelsville Middle School
Christine Braithwaite, resource teacher
Patty Braune, 8th grade math/reading intervention teacher
Rebecca Datta, special education resource teacher
Joe Davis, drama teacher
Kathleen Jacobs, 7th grade math teacher
Melissa Sigley, math content specialist
Tara Dee Whitely, 8th grade team leader, English teacher
Leroy Hyson, 6th grade science teacher
Brenda Fogle, math teacher
North Bethesda Middle School
Nicole Morgan, assistant principal
North Chevy Chase Elementary School
Sharon Mosley-Ramsey, media specialist
Paint Branch High School
Rashemah Stridiron, English teacher
Zaccary Mills, physics teacher
Thomas W. Pyle Middle School
Eve Nations, science teacher
Rocky Hill Middle School
Teresa Tippett, resource teacher
Sherwood High School
Sandi Williams, assistant principal
Walter Johnson High School
Erika Murray, counselor
Nichole Kellerman, science teacher
Watkins Mill Elementary School
Sarah Yoon, 3rd grade teacher
Wheaton High School
Cynthia Hammond-Davis, college/career information coordinator
Anjana Mehta, special education teacher
Churchill Science Teacher Wins State STEM Award
Virginia “Ginny” Brown, science teacher at Winston Churchill High School, has won the STEM Teacher of the Year Award from the Maryland Tech Council, the state’s largest technology association. Brown teaches three double periods of Molecular Genetics.
Brown makes sure that students are “hands on, minds on” in her class, putting an emphasis on real-world experience and using her background as a scientist before she began her teaching career. Brown has developed innovative approaches that provide her students with an authentic experience, launching a double period molecular biology course for which she partnered with Mount Saint Mary’s University to give students transferable college credits upon completion and a two-week internship at the university. For the past five years, her students also have participated in the Molecular Biology and Genomics Research project in conjunction with Rutgers and Johns Hopkins universities. In this project, students develop a cDNA library from a particular species of duckweed, and their work has resulted in more than 450 student-generated cDNA sequences being published in the databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Shout Outs
Pam Fee, it has been my pleasure to work with you at Clarksburg Depot and to be able to learn from you. I want to thank you for all your hard work and dedication to MCPS. Happy retirement.
—Michaelann Day, radio bus operator, Clarksburg Transportation Depot
Thanks to Angie Sebring for putting on an amazing field day for all the students of Cannon Road! Everyone was included and had a great time!
—Michelle Spatafor, first grade teacher, Cannon Road Elementary School
Thank you Joel Cohen for arranging the Black Rock Reptiles to visit our 7th graders. The kids had a great time learning about the reptiles. Kudos!
—David Suggs, social studies team leader, Parkland Middle School
