Fairfield Freshman School teacher Kelly Dziech’s classroom work includes working with a wide spectrum of students and excelling at all levels, said her principal.
“There are very few people in education who have the ability to affect lives like Kelly Dziech,” said Freshman School Principal Michael Berkemeier.
“Half of her day is spent impacting and pushing the brightest students in our school while the other half of her day is spent tirelessly working with our most at-risk students and she admirably excels in both areas,” said Berkemeier.
“Kelly is a tremendous motivator with high expectations for everyone she is in contact with – students, staff, and parents – and she makes everyone better for it. Whether it’s students in each class saying, ‘Good morning, Mrs. Dziech, we’re thirsty for knowledge,’ or at a staff meeting when Kelly famously says, ‘May I speak freely?’ everything she says and everything she does positively impacts those around her.”
A lasting measurement of a teacher’s positive impact on youth is when that student later takes to the time and effort to seek out their former instructor and the veteran Fairfield instructor easily passes that legacy test, he said.
“When students return to school to say ‘hi’ to former teachers, Kelly Dziech is at the top of the list with many former students even taking time to present to her classes over the years praising the impact she made in their lives. Our English department, our school, and our entire district is in better hands because of Kelly Dziech’s many years of service,” said Berkemeier.
“What sets Kelly apart from her peers is her relentlessness to motivate students even when they, at times, have no interest in being motivated. Kelly takes it as a personal challenge to win her students over and time and time again, she does it, and they thank her for it.”
And in his own way Raymon Jones, who won the Support Staff Member of the year award, takes up the personal challenge of keeping students safe at his school – at Creekside Middle School.
As a member of the school’s security team, Jones was lauded by a Creekside co-worker as being “always so helpful.”
“I know that his job can be hard but to see his face everyday and it make my a whole lot better than it was,” said Anneliese Erskine.
The two winners were recently honored in a ceremony and presented with their awards by Fairfield Superintendent Billy Smith. Plaques with their photos will be displayed in the district’s headquarters.
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