Star Award
One of our most valuable resources is our children. Suffolk Public Schools is comprised of more than 1600 employees whose sole purpose is to educate, feed, transport and administer to our children.To recognize the outstanding work and contributions of our employees, Suffolk Public Schools has established a Star Award.
Nomination Process
All employees of Suffolk Public Schools are eligible to receive the Star Award.
Written nominations should be submitted to the Suffolk Public School’s Human Resources Department. Nominations will be considered from all Suffolk Public School employees, parents, and community. Nominations forms are available in the Human Resources Department, schools, departments and here:
Nominations should consider information that reflects the criteria listed below:
- Specific incident/accomplishment deserving recognition
- Relationship with students
- Relationship with other staff members
- Relationship with parents/public
- Community involvement/service
- Creativity
- Attitude/School Spirit
- Commitment
- Initiative
- Activities/accomplishments that have impacted school in a positive way
Selection Process
Each school or department may submit Support employee nominations and Instructional employee nominations for Star Employee of the Quarter. The nominations should include anyone based at your school or department and is not limited to the examples below. Those selections should be submitted to the Human Resources Department by the appropriate deadlines.
Out of those nominations, a Star Employee of the Quarter for Support Staff and a Star Employee of the Quarter for Instructional Staff will be selected. Nominations not selected may be resubmitted for the next quarter. The Selection Committee will include a representative from the following: Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Group, Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Group, PTA Council, Bus Driver’s Association, Facilities and Planning Department, Assistant Superintendents, Suffolk Education Foundation, and Suffolk Education Association.
Recognition Process
All nominees will receive:
- Certificate of Recognition signed by Superintendent & School Board Chairperson.
Employees selected as Star of the Quarter (Support and Instructional) will receive:
- Certificate signed by Superintendent & School Board Chairperson
- Feature in “Stargazer”
- Feature on Website
- $50 Savings Bond, provided by co-sponsor, the Suffolk Education Foundation
February 2012 Winners
Congratulations to this quarter’s Star Award winners, who were recognized at the Suffolk School Board’s February meeting. The two honorees were awarded a $50 check, courtesy of the Suffolk Education Foundation, as well as a certificate and a distinctive star lapel pin.
The winner of the Star Award for Support Staff is Kim Werner, an educational sign language interpreter at Oakland Elementary School. She was nominated by Holly Boyce, a teacher of students with hearing impairments. Werner was applauded for her dedication to help students communicate, Over the years, she has also worked at Booker T. Washington Elementary and King’s Fork Middle School, and has made the transition “with the utmost enthusiasm and optimism toward her new home,” Boyce wrote. Besides her strong connections with students and their parents, Werner also shares her artistic talents by painting murals in the hallways on her own time. In addition, she travels to Danville one weekend a month to expand her interpretting credentials.
The winner of the Star Award for Instructional Staff is Christine Lafferty, one of two instructional technology resource teachers for the division. Lafferty is often the voice at the end of the Tech Center Help Line. Nominated by Lesa McNamara in the public information office, Lafferty was praised by co-workers “as she works tirelessly to assist the technology-challenged among us, to raise our understanding of bits, bytes and pixels, and to explain the mysterious disappearance of lost hyperlinks.” McNamara continued: “If she doesn’t know how to resolve your problem, she will research it and soon have an answer to your dilemma, and always with a smile. Her tone is never condescending and her patience seems endless.” In the past few months, Lafferty has spearheaded the development of the Student Portal and Staff Portal as well as the design of the new public website.
