PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to the following employees who are the April 2021 recipients of the Pursuit of Excellence Award for the Baldwin County School District.
The Baldwin County School District Pursuit of Excellence Award, an employee recognition program, is presented monthly to employees who go above and beyond the call of duty. A maximum of four employees are chosen monthly and recognized during the regular Baldwin County Board of Education Meeting. Any Baldwin County School District employee is eligible for nomination, so long as they have not previously received the award. Team or groups are not eligible for recognition. Nominations may be made by any BCSD employee, student, parent, or community member. Nominations are due by the third Tuesday of each month (employees will be recognized the following month). Nomination forms are available online or at the BCSD office.
Mr. Brown is working in his 4th year with the Baldwin County School District. This is his 2nd year working as the Work-Based Learning Teacher for the Baldwin College and Career Academy at Baldwin High School. He was nominated for the Pursuit of Excellence award by his co-worker, Dr. David Sallad. Dr. Sallad had the following to say about Mr. Brown:
“Mr. Brown’s politeness and giving spirit are beyond measure. He is one of the friendliest people that I know, and always has a smile on his face and a happy greeting for both students and faculty. Although Mr. Brown is responsible for Work-Based Learning and academy coach daily tasks, he can often be found assisting other co-workers with their tasks, volunteering his time and money with various projects while serving on various committees, and rendering technology support."
Mr. Brown, thank you for being a model of excellence!
Ms. Caruso began her career with the Baldwin County School District in 2005. Over the past 16 years, she has served as a classroom teacher and now as the Instructional Coach. She was nominated for the Pursuit of Excellence award by Ms. Tequila Thomas. Ms. Thomas had the following to say about Ms. Caruso:
"Ms. Caruso has assisted all teachers in the school! She is always accessible and readily offers her help in advance. What could be grueling for some seems to come easy for Ms. Caruso."
Ms. Caruso, thank you for your example of excellence!
Mr. Christopher Ryles is working in his sixteenth year as an educator. He joined the BHS band program in 2017. He was nominated for the Pursuit of Excellence award by his colleague, James McMillan. Mr. McMillan had the following to say about Mr. Ryles:
"Mr. Ryles has completely transformed our percussion programs at both the middle school and high school into one of the premier percussion studios in Central Georgia if not the state. Before the pandemic, our high school percussion ensemble was the only percussion ensemble in Central Georgia to perform at the prestigious Lassiter Percussion Symposium. Between our middle school and high school percussion ensembles, he helped establish our annual "Night of Percussion" which is a performance solely focusing on percussion ensemble literature. Our marching percussion since his time has won numerous best in class and best in contest awards."
"Even when we returned to school in the Fall during the pandemic, he insisted on every percussion student that was virtual having access to proper instruments to practice. He helped hand-deliver things to each virtual student such as snare drums, vibraphones, xylophones, and marimbas. He completely revamped the teaching model this past fall to make sure every percussion student in the county was offered a private or small group weekly lesson. With about 70%-80% of the total band program virtual this Spring, we are still moving forward with bringing back our "Night of Percussion. He is most often a quiet, but major contributing factor to the overall success of the total band programs in Baldwin County."
Mr. Ryles, thank you for modeling excellence!
Ms. Karen Stanley joined the BCSD team in 2017. Over the past several years she has made an impact in the Baldwin County community. She was nominated for the Pursuit of Excellence award by her colleague, Mrs. Ola Scott-Little, who had the following to say about Ms. Stanley:
“Karen has worked tirelessly bridging the gap for families. She has assisted families
in need of services and has gone above and beyond work hours to make sure children had what they needed to attend school and provide assistance to them during their time out of school. Her position as Family/Parent Engagement Specialist has allowed her to make a connection with parents that many had a challenge doing. Working alongside her has been a joy, and I appreciate all she does to assist me as District Social Worker and the school system as a whole."
Ms. Stanley you are a shining example of excellence!