Louisa County Public Schools announced its 2019 William G. Thomas Educator of the Year and 2019 Wallace L. Tingler MVP of the Year during a prestigious ceremony on Wednesday, May 8th.
The 2019 Wallace L. Tingler MVP of the Year was awarded to Moss-Nuckols Elementary School cafeteria manager Cheryl Seay. Seay has served as a cafeteria manager for LCPS since 1997, and has worked for the school division since 1989.
The 2019 William G. Thomas Educator of the Year Award went to Louisa County Middle School special education teacher Doreen Kaiser. Kaiser has served as a special education teacher for LCPS since 1993.
The two were selected for the prestigious honors after a collaborative nomination and voting process. Every staff member nominated for a weekly MVP award was eligible for an award, with nominations being made each week by members of the community, students, and fellow staff members. Then, staff members at each school voted to determine each school’s Educator and MVP of the Year. Then, a committee comprised of members representing each of the division’s six schools judged portfolios created by each school-level winner to determine the division honorees.
In her portfolio, Seay said this about her inspiration each day: “Seeing the smiles on the faces of our students and knowing I could be making a positive difference in their lives inspires to me continue doing what I love, which is loving and feeding children.” Seay was also commended for leading many activities with her staff to benefit students. For example, on many major holidays, Seay and her staff perform skits and plays for students during lunchtime.
Kaiser, meanwhile, was commended for continuous display of grit both in and out of the classroom. Kaiser, born two months prematurely with congenital disabilities, has been an inspirational leader at LCPS for 26 years.
In her portfolio, Kaiser credited positivity as a key to her success, saying the following: “Positivity is the most important non-negotiables for teacher and classroom success. It sets the climate of the classroom. Positivity promotes general health and mental well-being … Our classroom positivity is demonstrated in the can-do attitude and celebration of small successes as well as the expectation for respect for each other.”
Seay and Kaiser were two of 13 LCPS employees honored on Wednesday night. In total, seven classified employees were honored, each for winning their school’s MVP of the Year award, as well as a representative for central office/operations. Six certified employees were also honored, each for winning Educator of the Year at their respective school.
#TeamLCPS MVPs of the Year:
Jouett Elementary School: Chap Johnson
Moss-Nuckols Elementary School: Cheryl Seay*
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School: Tina Lesser
Trevilians Elementary School: Crystal Robinson
Louisa County Middle School: Myron Thurston
Louisa County High School: Buddy Jones
Central Office/Operations: Joy Henson
School-Level Educators of the Year:
Jouett Elementary School: Shelly Wright
Moss-Nuckols Elementary School: Shane Wilson
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School: Colleen Moore
Trevilians Elementary School: Hannah Anderson
Louisa County Middle School: Doreen Kaiser*
Louisa County High School: Jennifer Thorpe
More than 160 people attended the 2019 ceremony on May 8th. The ceremony was sponsored by The William A. Cooke Foundation and Old Dominion Insurance & Investments. In total, more than 6,000 weekly MVP nominations have been submitted during the 2018-2019 school year.