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Two emergency responses that may have saved lives earned Officer Dani Khalife one of Fairfax County Public Schools’ top employee recognitions for October 2025.
At Westlawn Elementary School, Khalife encountered two people behaving unusually inside a parked vehicle. After recognizing that one appeared to be in medical distress, he provided aid, summoned medics and police, and monitored the second person until Officer Schmidt and local police arrived. The patient was taken to a hospital and was reportedly recovering.
During a separate school board meeting, Khalife found an unconscious person on a sidewalk. He called for medical assistance and worked with bystanders to revive the person before medics transported them to a hospital.
FCPS also selected monthly honorees from each of its six regions.
At Cunningham Park Elementary, Meg Burnside, Maldonado Montecinos and Mattie Edmonston surprised a student by joining a birthday drive-by featuring “cool cars,” the child’s special interest.
Haycock Elementary third-grade teacher Catie Bartczak was recognized for weekly kindness challenges that encouraged students to help at home, pick up trash and greet others without seeking credit.
Veronda Grimes, the administrative and principal’s assistant at Mount Vernon High School, was honored for handling urgent requests, supporting families and staff, coordinating schedules and coaching the school’s cheerleaders.
Union Mill Elementary family liaison Mindy Cucci received three nominations. Colleagues highlighted her work with Spanish-speaking and military-connected families, translation assistance, registration support, Purple Star programming and help for students fasting during Ramadan.
Wakefield Forest Elementary custodian Daud Ahmed was praised for keeping the school operating smoothly, responding efficiently to problems and reassuring children after accidental spills.
At Annandale High School, Cass Hersh and Jennifer Cory helped Bryant High School launch nearby Saturday IPFIT sessions by providing space, headphones and office access for individual speaking lessons.
FCPS also published a large group of additional October commendations recognizing employees across classrooms, counseling offices, transportation operations, technology teams and support centers.
Those submissions included Frost Middle School employees Amanda Kamen, Anthony Harris, Maria Giro Martin, Melba Hawkins, Dan Joo, Larkin Gibas, Becky Mendoza, Kathryn Webb, Megan Dunn, Richard Deixler, Jared Shields, Shannon Lee and Dan Porter. Their nominations cited adaptable teaching, counseling, student support, mentorship, behavior management and extracurricular assistance.
Other classroom educators recognized included Vincent Camacho of Columbia Elementary for supporting preschool students with autism; Paul Shaskan of Hayfield Secondary for lasting relationships with students; John Tourtellotte of Lake Braddock Secondary for an inclusive theater program; Joseph Patton of Robinson Secondary for sparking students’ curiosity; Luke Williams of Rocky Run Middle for sharing lesson materials; and Shaye Moore of Colvin Run Elementary for fostering academic and personal growth in kindergarten.
Additional teaching honors went to Adrienne Weber and Aimee Cabrera of Mount Eagle Elementary; Cristina Grieco-Kang, Kat Clifford and Gail Heidt of Floris Elementary; Sarah Speight and Stacey Bershadsky of Sangster Elementary; Jazzmin Dabney and Hannah Bowman of Providence Elementary; Danielle Rodriguez and Brooke Johnson of Fort Hunt Elementary; Cory Walker of Lake Braddock Secondary; Hannah Wiley of Bryant High; Christian Fisher Yancey of Burke Middle; Andrea Austin of Woodson High; and Amanda Bowser of Lewis High.
Specialized instruction and student-support nominations recognized Lamia Mamouri of Providence Elementary, Ellie Poole of Timber Lane Elementary, Beth Mitzel of the Transition Support Resource at South County High, Jennifer Correia of ISAEP South at Bryant High, Michelle Byrd of Mountain View High, Jill Koppel of South Lakes High and Jennifer Pasinetti-Fuller of Kilmer Center.
Kelle Lyn Paige of Willow Oaks Administrative Center was commended for mathematics training that helped educators support algebra readiness, differentiated instruction and advanced coursework. Rebecca Wilkinson of Woodburn Elementary was recognized for coaching teachers who serve multilingual learners, while Christian Lanzaro of Willow Oaks was praised for helping implement the Summit K12 pilot.
Other instructional specialists honored included Meaghan Dobson of Bryant High for leading work on English-language-development assessment; Michelle Gale of Mount Eagle Elementary for strengthening mathematics instruction; Olivia Johnson of Haycock Elementary for inclusive music teaching; and Jennifer Rose of Canterbury Woods Elementary for supporting a child who was not on her roster.
Counselors and student-services employees received recognition for academic guidance, emotional support and crisis response. They included Kirsten Wiley of Falls Church High, Sandi Yost and Leigh Ashurst of Keene Mill Elementary, Skyler Fulton of West Springfield High, Pam Rein of Mount Vernon High and Marien Ochoa of Justice High.
Bryant High’s student-services team—Margaret Veenstra, Marie Harley, Stephanie Lemus-Ortiz and Ameen Jackson—was praised for managing added caseloads, graduation planning, attendance concerns and students’ social-emotional needs. Lemus-Ortiz separately received recognition for organizing Hispanic Heritage Week.
Operational employees were also prominent among the submissions. Dawn Rowland of Lorton Center was thanked for finding a student’s nearly new iPhone on a bus and waiting for the family to retrieve it. Candi Wilson, Jeffrey Schwing and Martha Buluts coordinated the return of a student’s group Halloween costume left on bus C-03.
Peter Schmidt of Forte Center helped locate and deliver a replacement print order. Toan Vu of Sideburn Support Center arranged temporary custodial coverage for Kings Glen Elementary, while refrigeration technicians Joseph Gurham and Tri Thai repaired Woodson High’s walk-in freezer and cooler during rainy weather.
Sideburn electrical employees Larry Smith, Charles Driver and Matthew Wilson designed and installed an outdoor lighting display for Fairfax High School’s homecoming dance, working around instructional hours. At Woodson High, custodian Karam Saadalla stopped his work to carry an injured colleague’s heavy bags and ensure she reached her car safely.
Technology-related honorees included Michael Sanchez and Simon Tham of Willow Oaks; Paul Kilmartin and Philip Jeffers of Gatehouse; Mike Lis of Lees Corner Elementary; Liam Ryde of Plum Center; Khalid Habib of Laurel Hill Elementary; Alicia Fyfe of Lewis High; Shun Walloe of the Nancy Sprague Technology Center; and Michelle Andrews of Gatehouse.
Their nominations described patient technical guidance, rapid responses, equipment reimaging, account recovery, training support and follow-through on computer and security problems.
Educational-technology recognition went to Kristen Zemba of Chantilly High for coordinating Playlab AI Challenge training, Megan Keane of Holmes Middle for demonstrating translated AI-generated stories, Megan Jameyson of Langley High for sharing a customized biology NotebookLM project, and Maggie Brown of Cub Run Elementary for documenting students’ use of Adobe Express.
Margaret Kivlen of the Nancy Sprague Technology Center combined multiple video and audio formats for a school board presentation. Heather Dorman, Christine Arocho, Lindsey Fisher, Lynette Webster, Jenny Collins, Rachel Singer, Erin Murtagh and Elizabeth McDowell helped create Tech and Treat professional development that reached more than 280 employees at 15 locations.
Transportation, facilities and front-office employees also drew praise. Arely Ruiz kept Brookfield Elementary’s building and 24 temporary classroom and office spaces clean during renovations. Soheyla Hashemi Tabatabaei supported students at Churchill Road Elementary, while Ileana Cerda assisted South Lakes High students with meals, personal care, translation and transportation.
Stephany Mercedes of Davis Career Center, Roberto Porta of Herndon Learning Center, Joleen Michalowicz of Gatehouse and Samuel Hagos of Willow Oaks were recognized for dependable administrative and operational assistance. Juana Tlatelpa of Mount Eagle Elementary was honored for nearly three decades of service, including translation help and support delivered with empathy and firm expectations.
Several employees were recognized for responding to medical, personal or school crises. Breanne Melikan of Alan Leis Center helped a school support a grieving family. Jennifer Pallotto of Glasgow Middle assisted another school during a crisis. Kimberly Cicero and Renee Basile of Providence Elementary cared for students and supported a staff member during a medical emergency.
Michael Viola of South Lakes High made theater dressing rooms available for state-required vision and hearing screenings, improving hearing-screening results by 80%. Kim Hammond helped troubleshoot Bluebook problems during PSAT and SAT testing at Lake Braddock Secondary.
The October submissions also celebrated major school events and collaborative projects. Haycock Elementary’s fifth-grade team—Kathy Williams, Jeff LeLoup, Katie Hopping, Emma Cavil, Jamie Arbesfeld, Jeff Morrow and Patti Harling-Gray—planned an overnight trip to Camp Highroad.
Grant Maloney, Griffin Graves, Samira Schneider, Joann Chae, Andre Jackson, Deirdre Ladd and Christoph Hill volunteered at Westlawn Elementary’s first fall festival. At Irving Middle, Danielle Tillman, Meg Gollinger, Sarah Padilla, Katie Shea, Benjamin Simpson and Stephen Hudson moved two classrooms after dismissal so students could enter ready-to-use spaces the next morning.
Anne Lee and Melissa Johnson of Lake Braddock Secondary helped Irving Middle conduct Signs of Suicide screenings when two counselors were on leave. Charity Risko of Belle View Elementary contributed to the 2025 Digital Citizenship Resource Toolkit.
Elizabeth Campbell of Robinson Secondary was thanked for the extensive preparation and after-hours work required by a Latin exchange program. Brian Kaufman supported the technical and facility needs of a Langley High event attended by more than 400 people.
Additional honorees included Amanda Lombardi of Franklin Middle for changing a colleague’s recess duty; Rennea Butler of Forest Edge Elementary for attending a student’s soccer practice; Ryan Barber of Floris Elementary for leadership and calendar management; and Sherwood Avery of Kent Gardens Elementary for greeting students and families each morning.
Recognition also went to Ashley Farrugia of Lake Braddock Secondary, Melissa Richardson of Forestdale Elementary, Jeffery States of West Potomac High, Farhat Ahmad of Hunt Valley Elementary, Virginia Rotteveel of Hayfield Secondary, Kathleen Chewning and Laura Couch of Great Falls Elementary, and Michael Murphy of Westfield High.
Other recipients included Charity-focused and mentoring employees Sarah Zamfir, Jodey Creighton and Meghan Hanson of Forest Edge Elementary; Jennifer Correia and Eugenio Fischer of Bryant High; Stephen Ward of Edison High; Bethany Abelseth and Andria Watkins of Chantilly High; Angie Castillo Alvarado of Johnson Middle; and Allyson Weingast and Sherwood Avery of Kent Gardens Elementary.
The remaining October commendations recognized Jaana Reglin and Mark Moran of Fort Hunt Elementary; Ellen Singletary of Cunningham Park Elementary; Maggie Brown of Cub Run Elementary; Yujin Choi of Haycock Elementary; Jaime Carroll of Canterbury Woods Elementary; Kathleen Chewning of Great Falls Elementary; Michael Viola of South Lakes High; Shiho Thompson of Willow Oaks; and John Stimac of Bryant High.
Across the submissions, families and colleagues repeatedly emphasized the same qualities: employees noticing needs early, making students feel welcome, solving problems calmly and giving time beyond their formal duties.