State Awards

State Awards

• The following senior dental assistant students passed the Ohio Dental Assistant Certification Exam: East -– Tameka Bayless, Katelyn Goodwin, Dominque Mingo and Ciara Morris; Ellet -– Brooke Haggard; and Garfield -– Erna Becirovic. Junior Alexandra Ulrich (Ellet) passed the exam as part of the SkillsUSA dental assisting competition in April. These students qualified for their x-ray certificate from the Ohio State Dental Board. The instructors are Teresa Gadomski and Michelle Johnson.
• Buchtel restaurant management student Leon Evans earned gold honors at the district and state levels of FCCLA's Dining Room Attendant event and won second place overall in the state competition. He also received scholarships from Connecticut Culinary and Hocking College.
• The APS 87-bus fleet passed inspection and received decals on the first scheduled inspection for the 2009-10 school year. This is the 27th consecutive year that the Ohio State Highway Patrol inspectors approved the fleet. APS buses traveled 729,000 miles last school year. The transportation coordinator is Kathryn Kiehl.
• In the SkillsUSA state competition, Ellet students Alexander Hawks, Branden Simone, Ashley Wisberger and Rakia Wolfe were rated in the top 10 for video production team.
• Twelve students from Buchtel, Ellet and Firestone advanced to state BPA competition, and 10 placed in the top ten for the state. The clubs involved included Buchtel administrative office technology; Ellet administrative office technology and high school of business; Ellet information technology; and Firestone administrative office technology and business finance.
• The following schools and teachers earned the Governor's Award for Excellence in Youth Science Opportunities from the Ohio Academy of Science for their accomplishments in the 2008-09 school year: East – Charles Armstrong, John Guidubaldi, Joshua Oldham, Linda Olson, Johnna O'Neal, William Stone and Robin Tidrick; Firestone – James Cauffield, Matthew Cochran, Jerusha Dean, Cassandra Hanna, Linda Kakish, Christine Milcetich, Nadia Niknafs, Daniel Spak, Scott Westphal and Diana Williams; Goodrich – Jane Arendt, Patricia Belcher, Christopher Carzoo, Patricia Falls, Damaris Gibbons, Charlene Panovich and Melanie Salyer; Hyre – Jennifer Berkheimer, Adriana Eidom, Christpher Gruska and David Hardwick; Innes – Cheryl Arnold, Kristy Campbell, Robin Clark, Annmarie Crofoot, Tina Daniels, Stephanie Davis, Anthony Gotto, Christine Justiss-Simon, Katie Marsh, Traci May, Tonia Merlo, Charles Morrison, Keith Rawling, Margaret Ruppert, Terri Smith and Beth Vincente; Jennings – Elizabeth Collins, Susan Hall, John Kishton, Michael McBennett and Christopher Schleich; Kenmore – J. Len Davidson, Stephanie Fassnacht, Martha Godward, Cynthia Johnson, John Lundgren, Maginel Natof, Felicia Partee and Joseph Porco; Roswell Kent – Steven Frantz, Barbara Greig, Kristy Johnson, Tiffany Lundy and Dolores Whaley; Litchfield – Ryan Boyd, Holly Brunswick, Lisa Cerosky, Kathleen Chicoine, Adam Grom, Carol Hendrickson, Stephanie Leonardi, Dorothy Lewis, Judith Moon, Brian Neugebauer, Penny Pletikapich, Gail Schlossberg, Linda Tedesco and Susan Vesalo; and Miller South – Sarah Core, Julie Demangeont, Wendy Duke, Laura Feltman, Louise Heydorn, Adrienne Kalaitsides, Jeannette Loretitsch, Robert Marxen and Gloria Russo. The award recognizes schools and teachers who stimulate student scientific research and extend science educational opportunities beyond traditional classroom activities. The science learning specialist is Katrina Halasa.
• Firestone was named a Buckeye Best Healthy School for its improvement in school nutrition, increasing opportunities for physical activity and providing tobacco prevention/cessation programming.
• The Ohio Department of Education named King one of 24 Schools of Promise in Northeast Ohio. These schools are among 134 schools statewide whose students show high achievement based on test scores, despite the fact that 40 percent or more are from low-income families.
• Child study psychologist Kathryn Rodocker earned an F. Peter Gross Best Practices Award from the Ohio School Psychologists Association for her work with the Pyramid of Learning at Innes CLC.
• Retired child study coordinator Elizabeth Bard received an R.A. Horn Honorary Life Membership from the Ohio School Psychologists Association for her work in school psychology.
• The following Ellet students competed in the Business Professionals of America state competition: top ten – Evan Faidley and Alissa Miller (team economic research project); and Mikayla Goode, Christine Green, Joshua Phillips and Amanda Rowe (small business management presentation); and second place – Rachael Kovalchin (individual economic research project). Kovalchin qualified for the nationals. Other students competing included Jocelyn Petron (legal procedures event) and Caitlin Sutherland (administrative office technology research project). Their adviser is Tracy Ebner.
• Glover CLC principal Rebecca Cacioppo was named an Outstanding Educator/Administrator 2010 by the State Support Team Region 8 (Medina, Portage and Summit counties). Other award-winners included intervention specialist Valerie Croghan as an Outstanding Educator and fourth-grader Taylor Ellis and fifth-grader Michael Bronner as academic achievers.
• North's marketing students competed in state DECA contests: Rebekah Huber placed in the top 10 for marketing management; and Megan Kane and Sierra Nowak placed first in the travel and tourism team event. Megan and Sierra qualified for the internationals.
• East marketing students were among 2,000 contestants in the Ohio DECA Career Development Conference Competition. The following students were top ten state finalists: Kelsey Curtis and Adam Malone (business law and ethics team management decision making); Athena Powell (entrepreneurship participating); Stefany Huber, Kandice Saulsberry and Diamond Yates (Ohio/national chapter management program); and Mennyon Davis, Iris Edmondson and Sasha Reid (financial literacy promotion project). The East DECA chapter earned gold-level status and recognition at the national level. The financial literacy promotion project team placed second in the state and will compete internationally. Their adviser is Susan Schutte.
• North students Kala Camacho, Diamond Fricke, Shanaé Jennings and Emily Rogers participated in the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America competitions in Columbus. In addition, students Thien Dang and Margaret Denholm competed in the SkillsUSA Competition.
• The Ohio Black Women's Leadership Caucus hosted its 29th annual Salute to Black Women and Scholarship Luncheon. The theme was "Women of This Century: Serving Our Community." One of the 21 women honored was Crouse CLC/Stewart math coach Tanya Robinson.
• The following Family, Career and Community Leaders of America students from Ellet competed at the state level: gold – Katrina McCormick (teacher resource kit event); silver – Catherine Blakney, McCormick, Chad Putnam and Ashley Thomas (early childhood team event); Melissa Black (early childhood star event); and Black, Lexie Chandler, Brice Henry and Stormi Poling (early childhood team event); and bronze – Putnam (job interview). Their adviser is Linda Dillon.
• Firestone senior Joshua Miller won a Torch Ambassador Award from the Business Professionals of America. Miller had to amass 70 points in several categories of community service to qualify for the award. He also finished first in the state on his fundamental accounting test and will go on to the nationals. APS finished first in the state for the first time at the BPA's Torch Awards.
• Four Hyre teams competed in FCCLA state competition: gold – Aleshia Fisher and Ashley Ross (chapter showcase display); and silver – Emily Hughes, Shelby Mills and Kayla Williams (chapter service display); Gabrielle Lewis and Kerah Morris (chapter showcase manual); and Kayla Hutchens and Allison Smith (illustrated talk). Fisher and Ross will compete at the nationals. Their adviser is Deborah Firtha.
• Three Litchfield students won first place in state FCCLA competition for their chapter service project scrapbook presentation, based on collecting uniform clothes for Project RISE. The students will compete at the nationals. Their teacher is Jane Smith.
• North heating, ventilating and air conditioning students earned awards in the state HVAC competition: fourth place – Jake Miller ($2,000 scholarship); and sixth place – Cherelle Weaver ($1,000 scholarship).
• At the 58th annual Ohio SkillsUSA Championship, the following students earned silver medals: East – Thien Dang and Emily Jack (web design; teacher Kay Dreslinski); Firestone – Anthony Craiu (technical math; teacher Daniel Spak); and Garfield – Bobbi Jo Vaughan (medical assisting; teacher Lois Gardner). East student Willie Reddick (teacher Dreslinski) designed this year's Ohio SkillsUSA T-shirt, selected from 200 entries to represent Ohio at the national conference. Other participating students included: Buchtel – Ryan Boyer, Leann Osinski, SirVonte Rice, Michael Sharp, Ashley Stephens and Daishani Williams; East – Felicia Bagley, Jacob Carmichael, Margaret Denholm, Paige Headley, James Mast, Nicole Merzweiler, Cory Mitan and Matthew Schertz; Ellet – Mark Pirogowicz, Ashley Wisberger and Rakia Wolfe; Firestone – Louis Ray; Garfield – Sha'Quanna Hooks, Joseph Lovelace, Krysti May, Cameron McNair, Estachia Rodgers, Sara Sekulic, Michael Taylor, Ahmad Thomas, Christapher Tracy, Gino Trinh and Vaughan; Kenmore – Travis Rider and DeJhon Solomon; and North – Jacob Miller and Cherelle Weaver.
• Buchtel's Future Educators Association students attended the state conference and competed in various events. Akil Gregory was elected president of FEA Ohio, and Vonae' Brown was a "Top 5" for her T-shirt design. Students and their areas of competition included Jasmine Adams and Myeishia Harrison (display board); Kayla Brown (impromptu speaking); Shavonda Johnson (prepared speaking); and Alexus Walker (scrapbook). Other competitors were De'Erik Brooks, Ashley Clark, Briana Collins, Purniesha Lake, Abigail Loraditch, D'Antonio Parmer, Candace Roper, Chelsea Scott, TaSheema Thomas and Allison Woods. The program's adviser is Linda Glover.
• Roswell Kent students competed in the State Science Fair. Seventh-graders Kimberly Flight and Katherine Lee's project was titled "Soil Temperature Between Short Grass and Dirt." Eighth-grader Rebecca Vang's project was titled "Landsat 7's Surface Temperature Accuracy Compared to a Fluke 63 Infrared Temperature Reader." Their teacher is Steven Frantz.
• Project RISE program manager Debra Manteghi received the Outstanding Professional Award from the Ohio Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
• Two STEM School students earned honors for their projects at the State Science Fair. Sixth-grader Conner Seitzinger received a "superior" rating and a perfect 40-out-of-40 score for his project titled "Fact or Friction" (effects of lubrication on the ease of hammering nails). Fifth-grader Kyle Fertig earned an "excellent" rating for his project titled "Addition and Cancellation of Sound Waves" (testing sound waves). This was the first year that students in grades 5-6 could compete. Judging was based on knowledge achieved, scientific method, clarity of expression, and originality and creativity. Their learning coaches are Sam Crews, Susan Hall, Christine Justiss-Simon, Aaron Merz and Perkins Pringle. The engineer-in-residence is Sam Landers.
• The following Garfield cosmetology students passed their state board licensing examinations: Desiree Clayton, Ashley Miller, Natashzia Powell, Jenae Rollins and Uniquia Sykes. Their instructor is Marla Duve'.
• Forest Hill CLC physical education teacher Kristy Cook earned a Silver Award from the Buckeye Best Healthy School Awards Program for implementing health initiatives focusing on physical fitness and healthy lifestyles.
• In a study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, titled "Needles in a Haystack: Lessons from Ohio's high-performing, high-need urban schools," King was named one of eight Ohio schools with challenging pupil populations that beat the odds and showed real and persistent academic achievement.
• North won LightsOut Ohio's Student Energy Saver grant drawing, earning $5,000 from Sierra Club's Portage Trail Group. The funds will be applied toward energy efficiency improvements for the school. The effort was organized by special education teacher Kristy Mazey and her team.