Teachers of the Year recognized by school board

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

At the Jefferson County School Board meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, the five board members recognized three local women who had been designated as the year's teachers and employee of the year.
These three women had a wide range of expertise and years with the district, but each one was noted by Jefferson
Somerset for the heart that they put into their work each and every day.
Whether serving in or out of a classroom, these three women – Raven Wilcoxson, Tess Knight and Shavonne Giddins – are all known around campus for their contributions to Jefferson County education.
The first to be recognized at the school board's meeting was Raven Wilcoxson, the district's Elementary Teacher of the Year as well as the overall Teacher of the Year.
Wilcoxson has been with the Jefferson County School System for five years, getting her start shortly before the Somerset Charter took over. Wilcoxson was one of the teachers that Somerset kept in the classroom, and she has since proved her worth thanks to her deep passion for teaching and student care.
“She has been a rock star across the board and this year,” said Principal Cory Oliver at the school board meeting, adding that he's been trying to convince Wilcoxson to take on more leadership roles at the school.
Wilcoxson has taught second and fourth grade in Jefferson County, and is currently teaching third grade this year.
Wilcoxson has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Wichita State University and lives by her motto of: "Kids don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Her career in education was inspired by a teacher in her own life; Wilcoxson says that one of her former elementary teachers made a big impact on her young life, and she has since tried to return that gift by giving it to her own students.
As the District Teacher of the Year, Wilcoxson will represent the district at the state level with every other district's selected teacher in order to see who will be Florida's Teacher of the Year.
The second teacher to be recognized was Shavonne Giddins, the Jefferson County School District Middle-High Teacher of theYear.
Giddins has been with the local school for only two years, which Principal Oliver proudly noted.
“With only two years, she has become teacher of the year, which is pretty spectacular,” Oliver said to the gathered community and school board at the February 10 meeting.
Giddins has a background in pre-med and teaches math at Jefferson Somerset, with a focus on Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and Algebra II.
Through her teaching, Giddins says that she hopes to provide opportunities that will give her students the chance to learn new ways of understanding and comprehending their world on different levels.
Giddins is a firm believer in that there is no limit on bettering yourself, and wishes to inspire her students to never stop growing into the best possibly person that they can be.
“She does a great job with our kids,” concluded Principal Oliver.
The final person to be recognized was the Jefferson County School Employee of the Year.
Despite not being a part of the educational process inside the school's classrooms, these employees play a big part in caring for the students as well as keeping the school running smoothly and efficiently.
According to Principal Oliver, it was a difficult task to choose this years' worthy employee, as there were so many hardworking people at the school who qualified for the honor.
“It's so hard to choose someone, because we have so many amazing employees who work for us. They all work so well together as a team,” said Oliver. “They are loved and respected.”
But when it came down to finally choosing a person to be 2020's School Employee of the Year, Principal Oliver said that obvious choice was Tess Knight.
With 19 years with the Jefferson County School District, Knight has shown her value time and again, and Activities Director Nancy Whitty noted that this is not Knight's first time winning a district award either.
Throughout all her years of commitment to education, Knight has been assisting teachers and inspiring students; she has been involved in the classrooms of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, first grade and fifth grade students.
Today, Knight is a paraprofessional at the school and she aims to make a difference in the lives of her students – a difference that goes beyond ensuring they make educational gains and educational knowledge. She believes that being involved in the lives of the young people who walk Jefferson Somerset's halls is what makes teaching – and every day at the school – exciting.
Each teacher was granted an award plaque as well as a monetary reward from the Jefferson County Teachers' Credit Union.