Eleven educators from the Mid-Columbia will be honored this week with Crystal Apple Awards for excellence.
The awards ceremony is 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Byron Gjerde Center at Columbia Basin College in Pasco.
The recipients were chosen from a pool of nominees submitted by colleagues and community members.
"When you're recognized as a Crystal Apple Awards educator, you're recognized as being unique, as being (an excellent) educator," said Bruce Hawkins, superintendent of Educational Service District 123 in Pasco.
One winner is selected from each of the seven school districts in the Tri-City area -- Richland, Pasco, Kennewick, Finley, Columbia-Burbank, Kiona-Benton City and North Franklin. There also are three at-large slots that can be filled by educators from any of the seven districts.
The recipients can be individual teachers or counselors, or teams.
The winners get crystal apples, $1,000 and gift certificates to area businesses.
The awards program started in 1999 and has recognized more than 150 educators. It's the largest award program of its kind in Washington, said a news release.
The ceremony is open to the public. A "Special Achievement Award" also is given each year during the ceremony to a person who's made a significant contribution to education across the Mid-Columbia. The recipient is kept secret until the award is announced at the event.
This year's Crystal Apple winners are:
w Michael Parker, band and choir teacher, Park Middle School, Kennewick.
w Chriselda "Chrissy" Beraza, counselor, Pasco High School.
w Jackie Ives and Denise Rosenblum, "We the People" teachers, River's Edge High School, Richland.
w Carin Waters, math teacher, Columbia High School, Burbank.
w Lorianne Donovan-Hermann, third-grade teacher, Finley Elementary School.
w Christy Holand, family and consumer science teacher, Southridge High School, Kennewick.
w Ken Jones, government teacher and senior class advisor, Kiona-Benton City High School.
w Paul Bagwell, fifth-grade teacher, Mesa Elementary School, North Franklin.
w Diann Le Johnson, sixth-grade math and science teacher, Ellen Ochoa Middle School, Pasco.
w Steve Hill, P.E. teacher, Jason Lee Elementary School, Richland.
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