Congratulations to Our Outstanding Educator Award Recipients

May 9th, 2016 /
Shauna Sprunger /
Foundation, News, Recognitions and Awards, Schools, Updates/Announcements

Last Friday evening, the Provo School District Foundation held the annual Evening of Excellence dinner where Tiffany Evans, Staci Hartline, Deniece Ord, Linda Seamons, Kirsti Kirkland and Kim Hawkins received Outstanding Educator Awards. We would like to congratulate them on this recognition for all the hard work they do.

Tiffany Evans, Sunset View Elementary

Title 1 Coordinator tiffany-evans Tiffany Evans has served as the Title 1 Coordinator for Sunset View Elementary School for the past two years. She has worked in Provo City School District for a total of eight years, having previously taught first, fourth and sixth grade.

Tiffany loves empowering students, parents and teachers to expand upon their limits and reach the pinnacle of success. As Title 1 Coordinator, she has had the opportunity to with students from all grade levels. She loves seeing every student develop his or her own identity as a learner. She finds it rewarding to see the excitement of students as they make progress in areas that were previously a deficit.

Tiffany also strives to build relationships with the Sunset View Community. She has created parent nights that include the whole family. One of the more recent family nights was a STEM Night full of hands on activities that inspired creativity, curiosity and ingenuity such as engineering bridges, boats and catapults. She has also held an International Night where each grade level studies a country and creates an informational booth. Tiffany relishes any opportunity to invite parents to Sunset View and engage them in their child’s education.

Staci Hartline, East Bay Post High

Special Education Facilitator staci-hartline Staci Hartline is the Special Education Facilitator at East Bay Post High. She has been teaching for more than 10 years, including the last 8 years at East Bay Post High.

While teaching at East Bay, Staci completed her Masters Degree and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor for BYU. She has been a guest lecturer at many conventions and is looking into a Doctorate Program to further her ability to contribute to special education.

Staci exemplifies what it is to be a teacher who truly cares for her students and the teachers she oversees on a regular basis. She is aware of each student’s emotional and academic needs.

Staci contributes daily to the success and well being of our school in various modes. Foremost she is an advocate for the students. Her focus is student success and pushing their independence while working around their individual disabilities. Her emphasis is independence in life skills, vocation, education and life beyond our program.

Deniece Ord, Wasatch Elementary

First Grade Teacher deniece-ord Deniece Ord has been teaching at Wasatch Elementary school for 25 years, including the last 24 years in first grade.

Deniece has always shown her students how much she cares for them. She has spent many years nurturing students by building up their confidence. She has a way of telling a student that they can accomplish anything that they put their mind to. She uses positive songs and poems as part of her teaching curriculum to help build students self-esteem. Her students know that at the end of the day she truly loves and cares for them.

Deniece goes the extra mile to help struggling students. She gives up her time before school, after school, during lunch and during specialties to tutor and work with students. She is very positive with the students and constantly celebrating their achievements. She has students from previous years who come to see her each morning. They can’t seem to start their day without getting a hug and positive words from Mrs. Ord.

Linda Seamons, Amelia Earhart Elementary

Music Teacher linda-seamons Linda Seamons is the music specialist at Amelia Earhart Elementary School. Linda has worked in education for 32 years and has been at Amelia Earhart for the past six years.

Linda has a beautiful rapport with all of her students. She makes the music classroom at Amelia Earhart feel like a safe and welcome place. The joy, laughter and friendship that are built as students play and sing together are fostered by the reparations of Linda, and affect the kindness and understanding that the students have toward one another in the school.

Linda prepares and sacrifices for her students. She is constantly bouncing ideas off of her colleagues to better understand how she might be more successful in her classroom. Providing the best possible musical experience for her students are evidenced by her creativity and driven attitude. She meets her students where they are, even if it is content that has previously been covered. She always takes care to present it in a way that the needs of her students are considered and treated with the utmost patience.

Kirsti Kirkland, Provost Elementary

Librarian kirsti-kirkland Kirsti Kirkland has been working in education for five years and has had her position at Provost for two years. Kirsti graduated from BYU with a degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Theater Education. She uses her theater education experience to volunteer for the after school theater program and teaches nineteen classes at Provost Elementary!

Although she has many classes to teach, she tailors each according to grade level and advancement. She has developed eleven different reading programs and she plans, hosts, and coordinates the School Book Fairs every year.

Kirsti has a great story-telling ability that invokes interest and motivation within our students. Not only does she have a talent for reading books, but she has a special talent for reading people. She can read students’ facial expressions and emotions. She can also read between the lines and translate what a young student is trying to say in order to help guide them quickly and effectively. She is dependable to a fault, and her personality and professionalism are a bright light in our school and community.

Kim Hawkins, Franklin Elementary

Principal kim-hawkins Kimberli Hawkins has been working in education for 21 years. For the past four years, she has served as the Franklin Elementary Principal.

Kim knows every student in the school by name and can tell you something about each one of them. She is always looking for ways to improve professionally by constantly reading books and researching about educational concepts.

Throughout the years, Kim has dedicated her time to eleven education committees and three education organizations. She has also served as a representative ay the Utah Association for Elementary School Principals.

Kim is a person of honor, integrity, humility and grace. She never asks others to do something she would not do.

She has an open door policy where her faculty know they are welcome any time. Everyone feels comfortable talking with Kim as they feel her genuine concern. Every month she gives the faculty a thank you note to uplift them. Working at Franklin Elementary is a pleasure because of Kim. She makes a profound difference in all of our lives.