Kathy Lee, Ridgewood Middle School’s main office secretary, was the first recipient of a newly minted Fox C-6 School District award.
Lee received the Support Staff of the Year Award, which was created for the 2021-2022 school year.
“I think it is vitally important,” Superintendent Paul Fregeau said of recognizing support staff employees. “It takes an entire team to get these kids where they need to be academically, whether it is the nurses, food service folks, secretaries, bus drivers who take them to school every day and more. All of us are a key part of making kids feel welcome and safe and have the ability to learn at the greatest level possible.”
Lee received her award April 25, the same day Seckman Middle School teacher Michelle Stokes was named the district Teacher of the Year.
“They are very worthy,” Fregeau said of Lee and Stokes. “It is always tough to narrow it down to one choice because so many people do great work. This recognition is new for me here, and it has been a great part of my first year getting to meet these people who do great things on a daily basis.”
The two were honored May 12 during the Masterpiece Dinner, which also recognized this year’s eight Masterpiece Award recipients – staff members JP Prezzavento, Beverly Atchley, Chris Chapman, Amy Nicholas and Cody Sellers, Fox High student Carson Keisker, community member Greg Nicholas and district parent Anndee Glick.
Lee
When Lee, 49, of Arnold, received the Support Staff of the Year Award, she thought the gathering was being held to celebrate her and fellow secretary Rachelle Parezo.
“It was administrative professionals week, so I thought when the principal (Pat Schwalbe) called the other secretary and me to the library that it was a surprise for the both of us, like a cake or something to say, ‘Thank you for all you do,’” Lee said. “I had no idea that it was for this.”
Lee said when she stepped into the library and saw Fregeau and some of her family members, it dawned on her that this was about more than administrative professionals week.
“I was totally shocked,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m doing anything over and beyond what I should do. There are so many other people who deserve this as well. I couldn’t do what I do without the people I work with.”
Schwalbe said Lee deserves the honor.
“She wants to help every student, parent and staff member who comes through the door,” he said. “She sets a great tone for the building being at the front desk.
”She always greets people warmly and with a smile.”
Lee started working for the Fox C-6 School District as a substitute teacher in 2008, and in 2014, she became a building aid at Simpson Elementary School.
She has been the main office secretary at Ridgewood Middle since 2019.
Ridgewood Middle special education teacher Melissa Wilken nominated Lee for the award.
“I told her thank you for nominating me,” Lee said. “I think it is amazing they have created (the Support Staff of the Year Award) for the hourly employees who work in the buildings. We are here to help the students too. It is nice to be recognized in this way.”
Lee’s two children graduated from Seckman High School.
Stokes
Stokes, 38, of Crestwood said she, too, was shocked when she learned she had won the Teacher of the Year Award.
She said she thought Seckman Middle Principal Courtney Meagher had asked her to go to the teachers’ lounge to discuss plans for an upcoming lock-in event, but when Meagher opened the door, Stokes she saw some of her family members and knew she had been duped.
Assistant principal Kolin Peterson and Central Office staff members also were waiting for Stokes in the lounge. In addition, there were flowers, a cake and a director’s chair with Stokes’ name written on it.
Stokes teaches eighth-grade American history, pre-colonization through the Civil War, and she is a co-sponsor of the school’s Character Council, a Student Council-like group made up of students who organize events and recognitions at the school.
“She is the epitome of a great teacher,” Meagher said. “She is extremely dedicated and very knowledgeable about her content.
“She is very passionate about building relationships. That is a big part of what she does. She goes out of her way to make sure kids are taken care of. She has a huge heart. Everything she does is focused toward what we can do to make Seckman Middle School better, not only in the classroom but as a building as a whole.”
Stokes began her 14-year teaching career as a special education teacher in the St. Louis Public Schools District. In 2008, she began working as a special education teacher at Seckman High School and after two years went to Seckman Middle, teaching special education.
She started teaching social studies at Seckman Middle in 2019.
Stokes said Seckman Middle eighth-grade math teacher Jill Strange nominated her for the building’s Teacher of the Year Award, which put her in the running for the district honor.
“I was surprised,” Stokes said of Strange nominating her. “Jill is a newer teacher at Seckman Middle School. I love working with her, but I don’t know her as well as some of the other teachers. It meant a whole lot to me that she recognized the hard work I do for Seckman Middle School. She is a hard worker herself. When you are nominated by someone who is great themselves, it really feels good.”
Stokes is eligible to compete at the regional and state levels in the Missouri Teacher of the Year program, conducted by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.