GCCISD honored 16 retirees during its annual Teacher of the Year and retirement banquet, held on May 18th at Goose Creek Memorial High School.
By: Kristyn Hunt Cathey, APR – Director of Communications
Goose Creek CISD held their annual Teacher of the Year and retiree banquet on May 18th at Goose Creek Memorial High School. This year’s theme was, “Aloha to This Year’s Best; Permanent Vacation for the Rest.”
Seventeen Giants are sailing off into the sunset called retirement at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. They included: Peter Cushman, Sterling High CTE teacher, 32 years in education and 20 in GCCISD; Leigh Flowers, Bowie Elementary PE teacher, 29 years in education and 25 in GCCISD; Michele George, Cedar Bayou Junior Reading Language Arts teacher, 34 years in education and 17 in GCCISD; JoLayne Gilmore, Bowie Elementary third grade teacher, 34 years in education and 23 in GCCISD; Vinita Kennedy, cafeteria manager, spent all 36 years in GCCISD; Eloisa Leal-Ramirez, San Jacinto Elementary pre-K dual language teacher, 31 years in education and 26 years in GCCISD; Steve Loutan, Highlands Junior sixth grade teacher, spent all 18 years in GCCISD; Beverly Mathis, Hopper Primary cafeteria manager, spent all 27 years in GCCISD; Monica O’Brien, Curriculum & Instruction English Language Arts Secondary District Specialist, 29 years in education and 10 in GCCISD; Stacie Poland, Sterling High dual credit BCIS librarian, 27 years in education and eight in GCCISD; Maria Rosas-Gonzalez, Lamar Elementary principal, spent all 30 years in GCCISD; Carrick Sherrill, Sterling High math and SPED teacher, 27 years in education and 22 in GCCISD; Barbara Thompson, Goose Creek Memorial High paraprofessional, spent all 17 years in GCCISD; Virginia Vaughn, Peter Hyland Center custodian, spent all 36 years in GCCISD; Carolyn Washington, Peter Hyland Center secretary/bookkeeper, spent all 15 years in GCCISD; Patricia Wiggins, Goose Creek Memorial High Honors Geometry teacher, 33 years in education and 11 in GCCISD; and Kathy Zeagler, data analyst, spent all 33 years in GCCISD. Retirees were honored with a clock, plaque, memory book and slideshow of photos from their years in education.
Elementary Teachers of the Year included: Tasha Arceneaux, Alamo Elementary; Latina Bogard, Stephen F. Austin Elementary; Linda LeDay, Dr. Antonio Banuelos Elementary; Gregory Gorney, James Bowie Elementary; Pamela Bradford, George Washington Carver Elementary; Stefanie Taylor, Dr. Johnny T. Clark Elementary; Juanita Hook, David Crockett Elementary; Marcus Limbrick, Lorenzo DeZavala Elementary; Sherry Young, Harlem Elementary; Marsha Goodwin, Highlands Elementary; Michelle Santibanez, Bonnier P. Hopper Primary; Deanna Senn, Mirabeau Lamar Elementary; Kelley Campbell-Conner, Shelia C. Liles Early Learning Academy; Amber Wheeler, Jessie Lee Pumphrey Elementary; Jamie Daniel Mejia, Jr., San Jacinto Elementary; Cynthia Rubio, Ashbel Smith Elementary; Kristi Abramski, William B. Travis Elementary; and Lisa Garcia, Victoria Walker Elementary.
Secondary Teachers of the Year included: Tavia Robertson Gamboa, Baytown Junior; Alexis Bryant, Cedar Bayou Junior; Mariam Augustin, E.F. Green Junior; Patricia Authement, George H. Gentry Junior; Chelsea Moore, Highlands Junior; Sharilyn Reed, Horace Mann Junior; Manuela Langlois, Goose Creek Memorial High; Glen Huey, Peter E. Hyland Center; Keith Brown, IMPACT Early College High; Ernyanne Calzoncinth, Robert E. Lee High; Tameka Mills, POINT Alternative Center; Tara Fielder, Ross S. Sterling High; and Kelly Congdon, Stuart Career Technical High.
Amber Wheeler, Jessie Lee Pumphrey Elementary, was named the Elementary Teacher of the Year and Tamika Mills, POINT Alternative Center, was named the Secondary Teacher of the Year. They will advance to the Region 4 Teacher of the Year contest.
The district recognized their Houston Area Association of Bilingual Educators (HAABE) Teachers of the Year. They included: Crystal Garcia, Alamo fifth grade ELA teacher, ESL Elementary Teacher of the Year; Tamarrah “Bambi” Henderson, Baytown Junior sixth grade teacher, ESL Secondary Teacher of the Year and Nicole Rivera, Harlem first grade dual language teacher, Bilingual Elementary Teacher of the Year. Garcia was also named the 2023 HAABE Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year during the organization’s annual luncheon on April 29th.
Shelia Southall, San Jacinto Elementary School, received the James Becker Thomson Award for Excellence in Special Education. Elementary Principal of the Year, Leah Abbate, Alamo Elementary School, and Secondary Principal of the Year, Earnest Brooks, E.F. Green Junior School, were also recognized at the event.