Maplewood Richmond Heights School District: MRH Board Of Education Honors School And Community Leaders

Press release from Maplewood Richmond Heights School District:

May 14, 2021

A gorgeous spring evening was the icing on the cake at the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District's annual Employee Recognition and Distinguished Service Awards event on May 13, held at the 9 Mile Garden outdoor food truck venue. 

Every year, the Board selects staff and community honorees and salutes MRH employees who are celebrating work anniversaries. 

The Advocate of the Year went to Early Childhood Center instuctor Sarah Hilton. Her nomination letter described Sarah as “committed... always upbeat and willing to step in where needed… creative, as witnessed by her brilliant idea to create JoyBoxes for preschool families. Not only did she learn an entirely new curriculum and grade level, but she also created opportunities for students to do Reggio-inspired project work even while students learned virtually from home."

The co-founders of the community support group MapleGOOD took home Citizen(s) of the Year honors. Dessa Somerside and Susan Peck were nominated by multiple individuals, one of whom wrote "They started MapleGOOD as a neighbor-helping-neighbor initiative when the pandemic first started and they have done SO much good in our community every day since." (Ms. Somerside was out of the country and unable to attend the ceremony.)

The owners of The Blue Duck restaurant were lauded as Family of the Year. Chris and Karmen Rayburn, along with daughters Annabelle and Cecilia, were saluted for modeling the District cornerstones and for helping struggling families during the pandemic while also working to keep their business above water. 

The big award of the evening went to the principal of the MRH Early Childhood Center, who will be retiring next year. Dr. Cyndi Hebenstreit received the Spirit of MRH Award. She received three nominations. Some excerpts: "She values teaching, teachers, learning, and learners. She has sent the message that we can do hard things when we bring our best thinking to the table. She works tirelessly on behalf of every child. She supports her staff from lunch duty to meaningful professional development and she always wears a smile on her face. It will be impossible to fill her shoes as she transitions into retirement, and we are so fortunate that we will have her with the district in a supporting role for one more school year."

MRH staffers also offered a last hurrah to longtime payroll manager Luanne Jackson. Luanne is calling it quits after 18 years with the District. Her retirement plans include moving into a home she's building on the Gulf Coast. 

The Board of Education gave a special salute to those MRH teams who stepped up during the pandemic to keep students and staff safe and healthy. The "COVID Heroes" are the MRH nurses, custodians and food service workers. Those individuals are:

Nursing Staff - Michelle Davis, Kathryn Whitehouse, Angel Goldberg, Jennifer Verdun

Buildings & Grounds Custodial Staff - Jennis Pyatt, Kathy Lubbers, Greg Kidd, Kaysie Pullin, Michael Clements, Bennie McCray, Maurice Rushing, Harvey Collins, Eric Bell, Nazime Cekrezi, Khalil Crossland, Al Earl, Oresin Martin, Andre Howard, Paula Holman, Irma Fletcher, Jhiaire Clark, Michael Davis, Carlton Gregory, Ernest Jones

School Nutrition Services Staff - Letishia Robinson, Victoria Johnson, Shonta Vanarsdale, Sherell Hill, Jenessa Danner, Judith Lengerer, Irene Wan, Chris Coggins, Nelson Corliss, Leisha Tate, Jessica Crowley

For more information, contact MRH School District at (314) 644-4400.

This press release was produced by Maplewood Richmond Heights School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.