Combined, the seven people who have landed the community’s top prize for educators this year have devoted more than 55 years to helping students both inside the classroom and out. They join 195 past winners of the William T. Dwyer Award for Excellence, an honor established by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County 1984.
The most recent class of winners were announced on May 4 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.
Nearly 100 business leaders throughout the county served as judges, assessing candidates on their classroom accomplishments, personal education philosophy, leadership and school- or community-based work outside of the classroom.
Each of the winners will receive $3,500, with finalists getting $500.
Here’s a look at this year’s winners:
Grow Up Great/Early Education: Cindy Fakhoury, Lake Worth High
Fakhoury, who has been a teacher for 14 years, teaches early education to high school students at Lake Worth High, where she is also program director of the Early Childhood Academy and Little Trojans Preschool Program.
In essence, she’s teaching young students how to learn — and older ones how to teach.
“Every classroom should be a safe, caring and student-centered learning environment,” Fakhoury wrote in her application packet. “I believe that having strong relationships with children is really at the heart of effective teaching because I want my students, of any age, to be happy, confident learners who feel as eager to come to school each day as I do.”
Fakhoury oversees the preschool’s budget and has created Tik Tok videos to promote the program. Her high school students have a 92% pass rate on the National Childhood Development Industry Certification, which allow them to teach nationally in a preschool program.
Outside of the classroom, Fakhoury has worked with the Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization, taking high school students on Saturdays to the organization’s learning program. She is also an advisory board member of the Early Childhood Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County.
Elementary Education: Dana Tate, Village Academy
Tate, an eight-year classroom veteran, teaches fifth-grade math, science, English Language Arts and social studies.
“I believe learning should be joyful, intellectually demanding, and connected to the real world where students live,” she wrote in her award application packet. “My goal is not only academic growth, but for students to see themselves as thinkers, leaders and contributors whose ideas matter.”
Tate’s students show substantial imrovement on standardized tests for ELA and math.
Outside of the classroom, Tate has worked with The Coalition in Delray Beach, where she co-founded the Legacy Farmers Initiative and leads a dozen students in the development of land owned by the coalition.
Tate has mentored three Florida Atlantic University this year and will soon welcome a fourth.
Middle School Education: Jorge Valls, Bak Middle School of the Arts
Valls, a 12-year educator, teaches chorus and music theory at Bak Middle.
“I have always believed that every student walks into my classroom with a light already within them,” Valls wrote. “My highest calling as an educator is to help them find the courage to let that spark shine.”
Many sixth-graders enter Bak with no music reading skills, but Valls takes pride in the fact that, by the end of their eighth-grade year, they can read music with 90% to 100% accuracy.
Valls’ eighth-grade students won a national music reading competition, beating middle and high school choirs from across the country.
Outside of the classroom, Valls started the South County Chorus in Boynton Beach, which performs at the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony each year. Valls also participates with the Kravis Center Arts Camp during the summers, where he works with more than 100 elementary-aged singers.
Senior High Education: Suzanne Reddoch, Wellington High
Reddoch, who has 22 years of experience as an educator, has taught math, algebra, geometry, statistics and liberal arts at Wellington High.
She credits a former teacher for inspiring her.
“My journey to the classroom began not with a textbook, but with a feeling,” Reddoch wrote. “In the second grade, I had a teacher who made me feel truly seen and valued. That distinct sense of validation, of being more than just a name on a roster, was something I knew I wanted to recreate for others. This passion found its specific purpose in seventh grade, when I began assisting my peers with their math assignments in class.”
Classrooms and math have been a big part of Reddoch’s life ever since.
Reddoch says she greatly values her relationships with her students. Many have written her letters saying they were ready to drop out of school but chose to stay because of her support.
Group photos with every class she has taught line her classroom walls.
Outside of the classroom, she helped organize The Wellington Classic, travel baseball tournament. She has attended the athletic events of her students, taking pictures and sending them to her students.
Student Support and Advancement: Shameka Thomas, Riviera Beach Preparatory and Achievement Academy
Thomas is the attendance liaison and the homeless student point of contact for Riviera Beach Prep, an alternative school set up to help students who need a non-traditional educational setting.
She said she keeps her focus on what students can’t always see.
“I recognize that my students carry heavy, invisible backpacks — trauma, housing instability, family crisis or substance abuse issues,” she wrote. “These burdens make traditional academic achievement nearly impossible until their safety and physiological needs are met. Therefore, my role is to act as the bridge between their current reality and their potential, ensuring that their home enrivonment and mental health are stabilized so that their ‘classroom’ learning can finally take root.”
Thomas has worked to help students secure transportation and uniforms and has connected homeless families to community housing resources.
“I treat every absence as a ‘check engine light,’ engaging in home visits and family support meetings to investigate the root cause rather than simply marking a file,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas has worked with students on impulse control, conflict resolution and decision-making in “restorative justice sessions” aimed at reducing suspensions and other sanctions.
Outside of school, Thomas has worked with students who have experienced trauma and with othrs who are in foster care. She has facilitated family stablization sessions for families living in a shelter.
“I am not just a counselor to a student,” Thomas wrote. “I am a resource for the displaced family unit.”
STEM: John Kux, West Boca Raton High
Kux, who has six years of experience, teaches social science and technology courses at West Boca Raton High.
“Every student deserves a chance, and I believe every student learns best when they understand why a skill matters, can apply it meaningfully and feel supported while being challenged,” Kux wrote.
Kux developed and expanded a computer science and cybersecurity pathway at West Boca that “integrates industry-aligned certifications, hands-on labs, and competitive, team-based experiences.”
West Boca’s pass rate on an IT fundamentals certification exam is the highest in the Palm Beach County School District, and Kux said he is proud that technical literacy has improved across all grade levels.
Kux’ students use programming languages and work on software development projects. His students’ pass rate on a coding certification exam is regularly above 90%.
Beyond the classroom, Kux oversees student programming, cybersecurity and robotics teams that regularly participate in events at area universities. He also oversees a student Dungeon and Dragons club some parents have told them provide crucial in-person socialization for their children.
Students sometimes can’t pay to participate in those clubs, but Kux said he never turns them away.
Exceptional Student Education: Amy Spano, Marsh Pointe Elementary
Spano, a 15-year education veteran, has taught all subjects at all elementary grade levels at Marsh Pointe and is currently teaching a gifted/mixed population of fourth-graders.
“I believe it to be my task to continuously develop cross-funtional or ‘hybrid’ skills within my students through project-based learning, leadership opportunities, and real-world simulations in an effort to prepare students for the future,” Spano wrote. “I tailor standards and curriculum to create opportunities that meet the specific, individualized goals of my students.”
Annually, 100% of Spano’s students are proficient on state testing platforms, with many performing in the top percentiles.
Spano has used the animated holiday classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” to teach civics.
“Students work to find problems within Whoville and brainstorm real solutions, considering urgency, funding sources, taxation and constitutional justice,” Spano explained. “To conclude, students meet as the House of Representatives and Senate as Congress to represent Whoville. Discussion, debate, ratification and voting ensue, enacting bills into law.”
Outside of school, Spano supports the Salvation Army and the food pantries at St. Jude’s and St. Peter’s Catholic Churches, dropping off food supplies when she attends mass.
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer Awards for Excellence spotlight top Palm Beach County educators
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
