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Fairfax County Public Schools’ March 2026 employee recognitions spotlighted educators, transportation workers and support staff whose actions improved student safety, inclusion, learning and family support.
The Central Office honor went to Jennifer Fisher, Marie Phillips-Journet, Jessica Belcher, Ana Ramirez de Pozo and Greg Shifflett of Stonecroft Transportation. After a missing-student situation delayed one middle school’s dismissal by 45 minutes, Area 4 staff reorganized routes and brought in additional drivers. Chesterbrook Elementary students still reached home safely and on time, with Shifflett returning to ensure one student completed the trip home.
Region 1 recognized Mallory Bonner of Cunningham Park Elementary for welcoming new colleagues, helping throughout the school and building strong relationships with students.
Region 2 honored Timber Lane Elementary teachers Libby Wray and Julia Stievater for creating a Peer Buddy Program built around games, conversation and shared activities. Both participated in a similar FCPS program as students and are now using that experience to encourage empathy, friendship and inclusion.
Region 3 selected Renee Octaviano of Franconia Elementary. The second-grade teacher expanded the school’s food-share effort by purchasing a refrigerator and portable coolers, enabling 12 students to take food home on weekends. She also organized Friday family-meal ingredients and recipes, then sought community donations when funding became limited.
Region 4 recognized Laure Grove of Terra Centre Elementary for creating a safe and adaptable preschool classroom and helping an autistic student build trust, handle transitions and make substantial progress. The student’s family also praised Grove’s communication and the two hours she spent discussing IEP updates and future needs.
Region 5 honored Daisy Lee, a first-year Cub Run Elementary employee who leads a kindergarten and first-grade Enhanced Autism Classroom. Lee was recognized for advocating for students, establishing clear expectations and working closely with inclusion teachers to expand participation at an appropriate pace.
Region 6 selected Kelly Bradshaw of Lorton Station Elementary. Bradshaw identified a third-grader’s need for advanced math instruction, maintained a portfolio for an Advanced Academic Programs review and helped the student’s family navigate an unfamiliar school system.
FCPS also received numerous additional recognitions during March.
At Gatehouse Administrative Center, Stephanie Hicks helped an employee navigate the FMLA process with care, while Linda Thompson resolved payroll and leave-tracking problems. Iris Malave Compher was recognized for leading Language Services, introducing the Lingo platform and supporting a culturally diverse team of interpreters and translators. Toni Epps and Cindy Ruiz created a Wellness Connection Table and Zen Den for staff on March 5.
Other central and technology staff honored included Kristine Baden for Tableau support; DJ R Hemsley, Madison Fry and Jesse Albert for resolving a StaffConnect Guardian access problem within an hour; Jonathan Magwire for quickly fixing testing-access issues; Patrick Kuesters for traveling to Thoreau Middle to restore Wi-Fi access on numerous laptops; Therese Payne for proactive technology support; and Griffin Payne for solving an unusual, last-minute testing problem.
Transportation employees received several commendations. Elizabeth Cardona walked a first-grader home after realizing no adult was waiting at the bus stop during an early dismissal. Cathy Hampton, Jessica Belcher and driver Charlene Bryant helped recover a student’s concert flute before a four-day weekend. Carolina Roca Del Valle, Michael Cifci, Celine Kim and Diane McKee were praised for helping a student with complex needs return to school. Mike Baber was recognized for guiding a new field-trip administrator, while Carmen Galindo Calderon smoothly rescheduled a field trip. Brittany Reigelsperger and Victor Martinez located five boxes of instruments delivered to the wrong building and brought them to Hayfield Elementary.
Teachers recognized for classroom instruction and student relationships included Jamie Penney of Oakton Elementary, Leslie Carl of Poe Middle, Nancy Mishoe of Kings Glen Elementary, Hani Abdelmalak of Fairfax High, Whitney Bailey of Edison High, Maurice Hirsh of South Lakes High and Luke Williams of Rocky Run Middle.
Additional honorees included Juliane Wines of Springfield Estates Elementary; Thresa O’Neill of Fairfax High; Chandrani Ohdedar of Churchill Road Elementary; Emily Brown of McLean High; Sumera Naqvi, Daniela President and Katherine Verdaguer of Forest Edge Elementary; Monique Martins-Blunder of Keene Mill Elementary; and Rachel Blitch of Haycock Elementary.
At Fort Hunt Elementary, recognitions went to Jenny Baker, Tracy Hutchison, Kevin James, Margaret Von Kolnitz, Rebecca McLenithan, Preshion Lynch, William Hurd, Bobbi Lackey, David Bertolotti and Lara O’Connor. Their cited work ranged from connecting families with housing, meal and transportation assistance to supporting student anxiety, managing daily school operations, providing meals, teaching technology and music, and creating welcoming classrooms.
William Hurd received multiple submissions describing his patient approach, strong family communication and ability to help students develop confidence in reading and writing. A colleague also credited him with providing crucial guidance during her first year of teaching.
Cub Run Elementary recognitions included Stephanie McWhirt for individualized and engaging first-grade instruction, Jenny Schoen Sisk for student relationships and staff service, and Cindy Brock for art instruction, employee representation and designing a new school bear image.
Other elementary employees recognized included Katie Denisar and Meredith Harrison of West Springfield; Insun Song, Theresa Eastman and Ben James of Haycock; Jenny Baker and Kevin James of Fort Hunt; Kim Horn of Daniels Run; Mercedes Horton of Colvin Run; Jessica Marsaw of Fairview; Farhana Mufti of Cherry Run; Samuel Lirazan of Fox Mill; Fatima Farooq of Coates; and Shwetha Prabhu, Seojeong James and Regina Johnson of Colin Powell.
Several submissions highlighted educators serving students with disabilities or other specialized needs. Honorees included Laure Grove, Daisy Lee, Abeer Amer of Cooper Middle, Herendira “Lorena” Avila Silva of Sandburg Middle, Carrie Johnson of West Springfield Elementary and Semere Ambaye of Interagency Schools. Their work included inclusive instruction, transition planning, individualized support and coordination across multiple courses and services.
Music, arts and extracurricular contributions also drew praise. Zeury Santana Carrasco helped Bryant High students explore Dominican culture through a presentation, food and dance. Skye Tucker taught choreography to a 45-student Rose Hill Players cast. Alexander Kluttz was credited with tripling enrollment in Twain Middle School’s band program to more than 225 students for the coming year while earning superior assessment ratings for a third consecutive year.
Daniela Arosemena and Sydney Parse organized Beech Tree Elementary’s talent show and helped students manage stage fright. Rachel Blitch inspired Haycock fourth-graders to practice cello and viola outside school, while David Bertolotti taught strings across three schools.
Bradley Webster of Robinson Secondary received two recognitions for rebuilding a discontinued D-Day GeoInquiry resource in Esri ArcGIS. Although he teaches high school science, he worked during lunches, evenings and weekends so middle-school history students could complete the lesson.
Portrait of a Graduate conference presenters recognized for their March 17 work at Willow Oaks included Shane Zavala of Liberty Middle; Leslie Leisey and Erin McCollom of Poplar Tree Elementary; Amanda Philip of Olde Creek Elementary; Emily Ratzenberger of Fox Hill Elementary; and Robinson Secondary’s Coleen Bonislawski, Elizabeth Joyce, Nathan Poumade and Kristin Webster.
At Lewis High School, Christina Cashman, Stephanie Dawley, Tristan Keightley, Amy Lee, Rachel Gottlieb De Llanos, Janae Passer, Annette Rose and Hanna Yun helped the school achieve a 98% completion rate during its WIDA testing window.
Other teams recognized included Cassandra Allen, Becky Cruz and Ankica Beslic of Forte Training Center for supporting trainees; Christie Day, Marissa Petty, Courtney Klein and Jeff Lonnett for helping school technology specialists explore AI; and Marissa Brooks, Marlon Mohammed, Brianna Smalls, Lea Fadden and Cristina Hannon of Hughes Middle for rapidly coordinating a student’s reenrollment and Return to Learn meeting.
Individual commendations also went to Kelly Bradshaw, Andy Austin of Woodson High, Nicole Lehman of Chantilly High, Brian Sirdofsky of Kilmer Middle, Thomas Whitsed and Mandy Hanna of Robinson Secondary, Shannon Peters of Oakton Elementary, Joy Cho of Annandale Terrace Elementary and Ashley Dunn of Mount Eagle Elementary.
At Bryant High, Patrice Gotsch was recognized for supporting multilingual English students and creating a scholarship wall and workshops for seniors while the school lacked a Career Center specialist.
Franklin Middle’s Andrea “Andy” Pratt coached three students for the Region 5 National History Day competition. All three placed in their categories and advanced to the state competition.
Additional submissions recognized Daniel Drickey of Hayfield Secondary for compassionately helping a coach step down; Kelley Dauberman of Woodburn Elementary for managing student-safety concerns and testing; and Molly Buchanan and Rachel Zindler for attendance outreach and connecting Woodburn families with medical care, therapy, vision services, food and other resources.
The March list also honored Kim Schauer of Hughes Middle, Leigh Toweson and Sandra Lennox of Carson Middle, Charity Baker of West Springfield Elementary, Jennifer Burns of South Lakes High, Matt Hildreth and Ian Donlon of Langley High, Meghan Hockenbury of Carson Middle, and Jennifer Petzold, Erin Rinker and Adam Broeckaert of Spring Hill Elementary.
Together, the submissions documented work ranging from emergency transportation changes and technical troubleshooting to patient instruction, family outreach and small acts of kindness that helped students feel safe, capable and included.