On April 24, the Multilingual and Corrective Programs departments hosted their annual Spirit of Excellence Awards at Evans High School’s Performing Arts Center.
Orange County Public Schools encourages, embraces and promotes bilingualism and multiculturalism and believes that all of its students, including English Language Learners, have the potential to become the most successful students in the nation.
The individuals honored made considerable strides in their lives, both academically and personally. The evening was dedicated to celebrating these students’ drive to be successful and the educators who helped them achieve more than they thought possible.
The following English Language Learners were recognized for their academic achievement:
Guadalupe Aguilar
Aisha Alabyad
Moises Aleman Valbuena
Karen Avila
Anabeyra Bartolon-Gonzalez
Filippo Carnabuci
Yicsia Cepero Alvarez
Yuliza Cervantes-Aparicio
Juan Jose Chica Otalvaro
Aimeé Cosme Vera
Xavier Cruz
Luis A. Cruz
Edgar Davila Bocanell
Henrique De Azevedo Dias Gomes
Marianna Días
Fabian Diaz Mestre
Laura Espinosa Rodriguez
Lulinha Fils-Aime
Melissa Fonseca
Alison Gómez
Gabriel Guerrier
Maria Hernandez Golindano
Zareth Hurtado Marin
Mischka Jean-Baptiste
Amanda Lamb Gonzalez
Mariana Lévchenko
Leticia Malavazzi
Nicole Marrero Rawlinson
Larry Mejia-Martinez
Orlimaríe Morales Salas
Diego Martin Neco Muniz
Pavel Nieto Gonzalez
Joao Pedro Nolasco
Jaanys Olivar Jimenez
Enid Orengo Pagán
Isabella Perlati Zambelo
Victor Pierralt Diaz
Muhammad Rasheed
Sharon Reyes Rodriguez
Maribelís Robles Rivera
Sofia Rojas
Mike Rojas
Maria Valentina Romero Gonzalez
Taina Samedi
María Sanchez Ramos
Ion Sirbu
Miguelangel Soto Rito
Isis Taylor Lopéz
Joshua Termidor
Steven Thang
Javier Torres Gutierrez
Orbin Valentin Román
Samuel Valles
Gabriela Vivas Sanabría
Stephany Zepeda Carias
The following staff members were recognized for their commitment and dedication to helping ELLs achieve academic success.
Jennifer Alami
Genese Benitez
Lorimar Bermudez
Olga Bernal
Ana Bondi
Clarisa Colon-González
Carmen Crosby-Garcia
Yeralis Cruz Laza
Joanne David
Emy Delgado
Nairobi Fowler
Abdias Garcia
David Hearn
Sian Heetai
Dr. Nora Hogan
Paul Janvier
Mila Legere
Maribel Maeso Ocasio
Samantha Rosenthal
Luz Seda
The evening also celebrated three school principals for their efforts to support the ELL populations at their schools and within their communities.
The principal winners are:
Margarita Zizza, Wyndham Lakes Elementary, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She received bilingual education and endorses its value. She has served as a classroom teacher, an instructional resource teacher, an assistant principal and principal within OCPS. She has a strong understanding of curriculum and instruction and the impact it has on students. As a second language learner, bilingual teacher, SIOP trained educator, and former ESOL Endorsement Facilitator, she has a strong understanding of language acquisition, how students adapt to a new culture and the best classroom practices to help students succeed. She further understands the needs of bilingual students and students with limited English proficiency and arranges supports for their success. She and her staff strongly believe that setting high expectations for all students is essential to their success.
Andrew Jackson, Bridgewater Middle, believes all students deserve equal access to education and a language barrier should not prevent them from the array of opportunities available. To ensure student academic success, his team has built a strong partnership with their ELL community. At Bridgewater, he provided teachers with opportunities to develop best practices to support ELL students, like ELL strategies professional development courses, and he ensures that his school offers extended learning to ELL students through a focused tutoring program. The tutoring sessions build students capacity in all subject areas. He and his staff work to build and maintain relationships with their ELL community stakeholders. They offer ELL nights to give families the full scope of what an American public education system entails. This provides families with a voice and a safe space to share their praises, concerns and to build community.
Jennifer Bellinger, Oak Ridge High, is a product of OCPS. She graduated from West Orange High School and been an educator within the district for 21 years; serving as a principal at Meadow Woods Middle, Memorial Middle, and currently Oak Ridge High School. Her goal in life is to make a difference in the lives of her students by opening doors and providing opportunities for them to reach success. In her tenure as principal at Oak Ridge High, she has lead her staff in accomplishing the following with their ELL student population:
- learning gains in math increased by 11% from 2017 to 2018
- achievement in U.S. History increased by 17% from 2017 to 2018
- achievement in biology increased by 14% from 2017 to 2018