By Gerri Miller
Elmore/Autauga News
Top Photo: Flavia Freeney of Millbrook Middle School was named Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Student and teacher recognitions dominated the Elmore County Board of Education meeting on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was held in the new Wetumpka High School gymnasium to accommodate a larger than normal crowd of supporters.
The first award was the Cognia STEM Certification Award for the Elmore County Technical Center. STEM Program Director Tracy Wright and ECTC Director Emilie Johnson spoke about the prestigious certification.
Cognia STEM Certification is the first internationally recognized mark of quality for STEM schools and programs, signaling the growing emphasis placed on STEM education by educators, politicians and business leaders around the world.
Based on a set of rigorous research-based standards and evidence-based criteria, the accreditation process examines the whole institution–its policies, programs, practices, learning conditions, and cultural context–to determine how well the parts work together to carry out the institution’s vision and meet the needs of every learner.
2021-2022 Teacher of the Year Awards were also presented. Flavia Freeney of Millbrook Middle School was named the Elmore County Elementary Teacher of the Year and Stacey Hutcheson was named Elmore County Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Col. Eries Mentzer, 42nd Air Base Wing Commander of Maxwell Air Force Base and Chief Master Sgt. Morgan presented the Pete Taylor Partnership of Excellence Award to Superintendent Richard Dennis. The Award recognizes successful partnerships and projects that ultimately benefit military-connected children. The Award is given in two areas: K-12 and higher education.
Cacye Davis was named as the Outstanding Dietitian of the Year 2021. The award was given by the Alabama Dietetic Association. Davis headed up efforts to feed Elmore County’s children when the pandemic hit a year ago and her group has served more than four million meals to students both at school and at home.
Jeff Glass of Wetumpka High School was named 2020 Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Alabama Conference of Theatre. Theatre is a popular choice for WHS students and under Glass’s direction, the program has grown to include more than 100 students per year.
Holtville High School Principal Kyle Futral presented an award to student Hannah Daniel. Daniel was named as the State President of DECA. DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management in high schools and colleges around the globe.
Elmore County High School Principal Wes Rogers presented wrestling awards to Ramon Lazado who placed fourth statewide in the 109-pund weight class and to Matt Brown, who placed fifth in the 225-pound weight class.
ECHS’s Coleman Rogers was won a state championship in diving.
Stanhope Elmore High School (SEHS) Principal Ewell Fuller recognized the Girl’s Bowling Team, which finished third at the state competition. He also presented wrestling awards to Tanner McCord, who finished fifth at the state competition in the 138-pound weight class and to Connor Russo, who finished fifth in the 160-pound class.
Also, at SEHS, William Whitlow was named as the All-State Defensive Lineman and was selected to play in the Alabama/Mississippi Allstar Game.
WHS Principal Robbie Slater gave out track awards for the 6A Indoor Track & Field Meet. Jamaya Johnson placed 7th in the Girls Triple Jump. Colby Golson placed fourth in the Boys Shot Put and Jalen Johnson placed 2nd in the Boys Triple Jump.
WHS also received numerous wrestling awards and the team finished third overall out of 68 total teams in the state competition. The team also placed 2nd in State Duels.
Mason Blackwell won first place in the 182-pound weight class and is the first student in Wetumpka history to win the state championship three times. Jade Eldridge also won first place in the 152-pound girls weight class.
Kyler Adams placed second in the 138-pound weight class and Abraham Preston came in second in the 220-pound weight class. Chad Strickland came in fourth in the 113-pound class and Xander McWilliams won sixth place in the 145-pound division.
Slater also recognized Morgan Causey as the Region Three Bryant-Jordan Scholar-Athlete Nominee. The Scholar-Athlete Award honors high school seniors who are both superior athletes and outstanding students. Selection considerations include: scholastic standing, sport involvement, athletic honors, student leadership and civic/church leadership.
District Two BOE Member Wendell Saxon presented numerous awards for both poster and essay contests in honor of Black History Month.
Poster winners include Kendall Allen of Airport Road Intermediate School, who won first place. Second place went to Taylor Bozeman of Wetumpka Elementary School (WES) and in third place was Hailey Owens of Holtville Elementary School.
In addition, the following students placed in the top ten for the poster contest: Ava Glass, WES; Aubrey Grier, Holtville Elementary School (HES); Aaliyah Humphrey, Redland Elementary School (RES); Charlotte Stovall, HES; Steffen Poole, Millbrook Middle School (MMS); and Ansley Green, Wetumpka Middle School (WMS).
There were also numerous winners in the Black History Essay Contest. In the middle school division, first place went to Charlotte Brown of WMS and in second place was Sarah Grace Nickerson of MMS. Felicity Kemp of WMS won third place.
The following students placed in the top ten in the middle school division essay contest: Kendra Williams, MMS; Zoie Ball, MMS; Mariya Owes, MMS; Nick Redmon, WMS; Macin James, MMS; Lige Westbrook, WMS; William Anderson, MMS; Sarah Sistrunk, MMS; and Sisson Baylor, WMS.
In the high school division, Olivia Stephens of SEHS won first place and Shemai’ya Peak of SEHS came in second place. Third place went to Sydney Tait of HHS.
Students placing in the top ten in the high school essay contest included Charles Johnson III of SEHS; LaMonica Smith of HHS; Mallory Dobbs of SEHS; Shawkat Kochi of SEHS; McElrath Madison of SEHS; Zamarria Ferrell of SEHS and Jonathan Clarke of SEHS.
All of the posters submitted for the contest were on display at the Black History Museum in Wetumpka on Saturday, March 13, as well as the first, second and third-place essays for both middle and high school.
