The Fox C-6 School District’s 2024 Teacher of the Year and Support Staff Member of the Year each have reaches that span the entire district.
Reading specialist Beth Griffin was named Teacher of the Year, and Jamie Willis, an administrative assistant, was named the Support Staff Member of the Year.
“They both go above and beyond the normal expectations of their jobs,” Superintendent Paul Fregeau said. “Beth makes sure the kids have a great experience with reading, and Jamie makes sure the district’s secretaries feel supported and valued.”
Griffin
Griffin, 41, who lives in the Jefferson County portion of Fenton, is a reading specialist and teaches at Meramec Heights Elementary School. She also serves as the Title 1 teacher leader for the district’s 11 elementary schools and has helped Tracy Haggerty, the district’s chief teaching and learning officer, implement a new state mandated reading success plan throughout those schools.
Griffin has taught at Meramec Heights for eight of the nine years she has worked at the Fox district. She also spent one year teaching at Rockport Heights.
Meramec Heights Elementary School reading specialist Beth Griffin was named the 2024 Fox C-6 School District Teacher of the Year.
Meramec Heights Principal Dustin Bain said Griffin deserved the award.
“Beth goes above and beyond to make sure the reading teachers are supported, which in turn supports the learning of students. Beth is very well respected among her colleagues and staff districtwide,” he said.
Griffin said she was surprised with the award on April 26 during an all-school assembly at Meramec Heights, when Bain asked her to come forward and draw a teacher’s name to win tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. After she got up there, Bain announced she had won a special award, and Fregeau then presented her with the honor.
“I was kind of in a daze,” Griffin said. “I don’t really like to be up in front of a ton of people. I was shocked. I didn’t expect it at all. I was speechless, really.”
Griffin said several of her family members were on hand to see her get the award, including her husband, Kevin; their children, Brooke, an eighth grade student at Ridgewood Middle School, and twins Collin and Ellie, sixth graders at Ridgewood; her parents, Tom and Nancy Caruso; and her sister, Amy Helbling.
After the celebration, a student approached her crying, saying he didn’t want her to leave, Griffin said.
“He thought I was retiring,” she said. “I told him I am not leaving. That is something I will remember forever. It shows the impact you have on these kids’ lives.”
Griffin said she was humbled to receive the award, adding that she shares it with other teachers in her department.
“I consider it an honor for my department of reading specialists and math specialists,” she said. “We work hard with the kids who are struggling to learn each and every day. It is a win for the whole department.”
Griffin was selected from the 19 building teachers of the year for the districtwide award.
Other building teachers of the year were Antonia Elementary kindergarten teacher Alexis Brown, Antonia Middle math teacher Sarah Beck, Bridges High School teacher Timothy Pieper, Clyde Hamrick Elementary reading specialist Tina Risse, Early Childhood Center teacher Stacy Bolhofner, Fox Elementary second grade teacher Samantha Schaeffer, Fox High business teacher Tori Endermuhle, Fox Middle social studies teacher Angie Thoma, Guffey Elementary third grade teacher Tara Christopher, Hodge Elementary third grade teacher Jody Hahn, Lone Dell Elementary first grade teacher Angela Barbarotta, Ridgewood Middle special education teacher Melissa Wilken, Rockport Heights Elementary fifth grade teacher Lydia Harris, Seckman Elementary third grade teacher Tim Raye, Seckman High science teacher Mark Waites, Seckman Middle librarian Kelly Wason, Sherwood Elementary fifth grade teacher Mindy Nicholson and Simpson Elementary third grade teacher Jennifer Asher.
Griffin now has the chance to be chosen to represent the Fox district as a St. Louis Regional Teacher of the Year.
Willis
Willis, 46, of Festus has worked for the Fox district for seven years and is the administrative assistant for the Fox district’s assistant superintendents.
However, Willis said she works with nearly all the district’s administrators and secretaries and numerous parents in her role.
“I think she is a terrific choice for support staff of the year,” said Randy Gilman, assistant superintendent of elementary education. “She really represents so much of what our support staff means to us as a district. Without all of them we would absolutely fall apart.
“For example, the district’s shift to a new student information system has been an enormous effort, and I don’t see how we would have been able to accomplish this without Jamie Willis and all of the other staff who work in this system on a daily basis.”
Willis said she received the award on April 11 at a meeting that was supposed to be about plans for next year’s teacher appreciation week.
“I was surprised with a great celebration with my family, our administrative team and some of the secretaries, who attended virtually,” Willis said.
She said that after Fregeau announced she had won the award, she noticed her family was in the room, including her husband, Dunklin R-5 School District assistant superintendent Joe Willis; their children, Allison, Delaney and Peyton; and her father, Jim Hill.
“They were kind of standing off to the side,” she said. “I was very shocked and honored. It is a big deal. I take great pride in it. There are so many people in the district who are very deserving of this award. I am very fortunate and honored to receive this.”
Tammy Cardona, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said Willis embodies the district’s motto of “Every Student, Every Day, Whatever it Takes.”
“She is always pleasant when dealing with even the most difficult of situations and has a heart for this district, our staff and our families,” Cardona said.
Willis was among 20 support staff members up for the district award. Other building and department support staff members of the year were Antonia Elementary special education aide Julie Schlemmer, Antonia Middle lead secretary Shanna Moore, Clyde Hamrick Elementary lead secretary Renee McFarland, Fox Elementary teacher’s assistant Amanda Hedrick, Fox High teacher’s assistant Christina Drury, Fox Middle nurse Cindy Thornberry, Guffey Elementary CKC coordinator Kaitlyn Duren, Hodge Elementary teacher’s assistant Dena Taylor, Lone Dell Elementary special education aide Kim Kasal, Meramec Heights Elementary teacher’s assistant Ryan Roe, Ridgewood Middle teacher’s assistant Nancy Scott, Rockport Heights Elementary custodian Bob Venable, Seckman Elementary teacher’s assistant Michelle Penrod, Seckman High security officer Aaron McKenzie, Seckman Middle special education aide Alicia Schaper, Sherwood Elementary building aide Cynthia Pickett, Simpson Elementary custodian Kenneth Gleich, Don Earl Early Childhood Center teacher’s assistant Rachael Schlipmann and bus driver Perry Mitchell.
“It is hard to narrow the winners down each year,” Fregeau said. “We have so many great people. When you read through the nominations and rate them, it is a difficult task. There are so many people who warrant the honors. I am glad we honor people in every building and department.”
The teachers and support staff members of the year were honored, along with the Masterpiece Award winners, at a dinner in April.