Washington, DC —Tonight, DC Public Schools (DCPS) celebrates the district’s top teachers, leaders, and school communities at the seventh annual Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools, held at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. City officials, corporate sponsors and business leaders will join nearly 2,000 educators for an evening of honoring excellence in education.
Tim Gunn, noted fashion expert and education champion, is returning to host the event for the second time. Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Andra Day is the night’s headliner, and she will perform her hit single Rise Up.
“I’m thrilled to celebrate every great teacher, leader, educator and staff person who works to educate all the young people who enter our doors,” said Chancellor Antwan Wilson. “With the committed educators at DC Public Schools, we will continue to be the fastest-improving urban school district in the country and close the achievement gap.”
The eight Excellence Award winners and 29 Rubenstein Award winners are comprised of individuals and school communities from across DCPS. These winners are recognized for their achievements on the stage of the Kennedy Center and honored with $230,000 worth of cash prizes, thanks to the generosity of Alice and David M. Rubenstein. Nominations for Standing Ovation awards are received throughout the school year from parents, teachers and community members.
The 2016 Excellence Awards presented at Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools:
- Principal of the Year: Anita Berger, Principal, Banneker High School
- Teacher of the Year: Jan Schuettpelz, Science Teacher, Deal Middle School
- School Staff Member of the Year: Burt Lancaster, Custodial Foreman, Beers Elementary School
- Excellence in Classroom Innovation: David Gesualdi, Physical Education & Health Teacher, Walker-Jones Education Campus. Gesualdi now teachers at MacFarland Middle School and Roosevelt High School.
- Excellence in Service: Ann Brogioli, Social Worker, Hart Middle School. Brogioli now works at Watkins Elementary School.
- Excellence by an Academic Leadership Team: Bancroft Elementary School
- Excellence in Family Engagement: Stanton Elementary School
- Excellence in School Innovation: Truesdell Education Campus
The 2016 Rubenstein Awards for Highly Effective Leadership
- Eric Bethel, Principal, Turner Elementary School
- Maurice Kennard, Principal, Brightwood Education Campus
- Kathryn Larkin, Principal, H.D. Cooke Elementary School
- Aimeé Cepeda, Principal, River Terrace Education Campus
- Bruce W. Jackson, Assistant Principal, Cardozo Education Campus
- Tiffany Johnson, Assistant Principal, Whittier Education Campus
- Anna Krughoff, Assistant Principal, Marie Reed Elementary School
- Diedre Neal, Assistant Principal, Deal Middle School
The 2016 Rubenstein Awards for Highly Effective Teaching:
- Milton Bryant, Math Teacher, Ketcham Elementary School
- Mary Clayman, ELA Teacher, Eaton Elementary School
- James Edwards, Music Teacher, Stuart-Hobson Middle School
- Aneesah Saleem, Pre-K Teacher, Hendley Elementary School
- Sharon Scholem, Pre-K Teacher, Key Elementary School
- Jen Wang, Chinese Teacher, McKinley Technology High School
- Bobbie Verdegaal, Science Teacher, Cardozo Education Campus (and 2016 DCPS New Teacher of the Year)
The 2016 Rubenstein Awards for Highly Effective School Staff
- Sandra Gutierrez, Instructional Coach, Oyster-Adams Education Campus
- Imelda Lopez-Diaz, Registrar, Bancroft Elementary School
- Ricardo Owen Neal, Director of Strategy and Logistics, Eastern High School
- Barbara Ochmanek, Librarian, School-Within-School at Goding
- Charles Robinson, Executive Administrator, Truesdell Education Campus
- Eleanor Seale, Business Manager, Hart Middle School
Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools is hosted by the DC Public Education Fund. Follow the action at #StandingOvation2017.