Fremont Area Community Foundation Trustee Lynne Robinson (left) presented Outstanding
Teacher Awards to Nancy Schwingler of Pathfinder Elementary and Roger Smith of White
Cloud Middle School.
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Steve Vissia of Fremont High School was presented with the Outstanding Teacher Award
at the high school level.
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Three educators honored as Teachers of the Year
Local educators Nancy Schwingler, Roger Smith and Steve Vissia were named Outstanding Teacher of the Year at NC RESA’s Student and Community Awards Night on April 23.
The three award-winning teachers were recognized for their creativity, inspiration and leadership in school and community affairs. The Robert and Elsie Geeting Educational Fund at the Fremont Area Community Foundation granted $2,500 for educational use at each of the teachers’ school buildings.
Schwingler teaches at Pathfinder Elementary and has 34 years of teaching experience. She was recognized by parents as possessing “instructional creativity” and making “each student feel special and unique.”
Smith teaches at White Cloud Middle School and has 38 years of teaching experience. Parents said that he “offers incentives, praise and encouragement on a daily basis.”
Vissia has been teaching for 11 years at Fremont High School. His students said that “he teaches factual information while still able to be entertaining.”
“The community foundation is keenly aware of the importance of education,” said Fremont Area Community Foundation President and CEO Libby Cherin. “We believe that a community-wide emphasis on education can be enhanced by recognizing and encouraging good educators.
We salute the three Newaygo County Outstanding Teachers for their commitment to our students.”
The Foundation solicited nominations for a Teacher of the Year Award from Newaygo County schools, teachers, parents, students and community members. A total of 38 teachers from 22 school buildings across Newaygo County were nominated for the award. The Community Foundation’s Scholarship Committee conducted a blind scoring of the nominations based on criteria developed by local educators.
The Foundation also congratulated the teachers nominated from the other 19 county school buildings:
Candace Flauaus (Grant Primary Center), Beth VanDerVeer (Patricia St. Clair-Hesperia), Cathy Wagner (Grant Christian), Herbert Lindsay (Pine Street/ Daisy Brook), Melissa Hubert (Vera Wilse Elementary), Mark Wright (Velma Matson Elementary), Julie Karnemaat (Jack D. Jones Elementary), Jana Dakin (White Cloud Elementary). Cindy Maike (Fremont Middle), John Barkle (Fremont Christian), Karen Graff (Newaygo Middle), Ben Westgate (Hesperia Middle), Kayla Mroczek (White Cloud High), Gretchen Kuklo (Newaygo East), Robin Tyink (Providence Christian), Maxine Schneider (Grant High), Daniel Barnett (Newaygo High), Sue Hatting (NCCTC) and James Cherry (Hesperia High).