This year’s virtual Stellar Awards celebrated the successes of 464 honorees, 16 finalists and the winner of Teacher, Support Person, Principal and Assistant Principal of the Year. The honorees represented 202 school and multiple district departments.
The winners in each of the respective categories are:
Teacher of the Year
Stewart Parker, AP Human Geography
Winter Park High School – Ninth Grade Center
Mr. Parker’s Advanced Placement Human Geography students continuously score above the district, state and national averages on their final assessment. He appreciates that, but test scores are not his focus. Mr. Parker wants his students to leave his course “transformed; to have a larger worldview; to appreciate their place in life more; and to be global citizens.” Additionally, Mr. Parker strives to have a classroom that is a safe place for all students, and he wants them to feel welcome and supported by one another.
Support Person of the Year
Yi-Ping (Lydia) Folks, School Secretary/Bookkeeper
Blankner School
Ms. Folks servant’s heart is just one of the qualities her school community loves about her. As a school secretary and bookkeeper, Ms. Folks is detail orientated and goal driven. While her primary responsibilities involve the financial health of the school, she is never too busy to help others. Whether she is creating spreadsheets, unjamming a copy machine, assisting a parent or calming an upset student, she thrives on making a positive impact on those around her.
Principal of the Year
Jennifer Bellinger, Oak Ridge High
Ms. Bellinger uses a winner’s attitude to implement change at Oak Ridge High School. She decreased teacher attrition, increased student achievement and moved the school from a D to B in two years. The implementation of progress monitoring systems, teacher development and leadership development helped the school achieve success in the classroom, athletics and parent engagement.
Assistant Principal of the Year
Rebecca Yedvobnick, Ridgewood Park Elementary
Ms. Yedvobnick’s leadership is best seen in the trenches with teachers and students. She is a collaborative leader who believes modeling and coaching builds trust and creates conditions for change. Working directly with teachers and coaches, she increases their ability to impact student achievement. Outside of her duties as an assistant principal, Ms. Yedvobnick created a “Tiger Pantry” to help feed their food-insecure families on the weekends.
All the winners will advance to compete at the state level.
- The Teacher of the Year winner will be the district’s nominee for the Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year.
- The Support Person of the Year will be the district’s nominee for the Florida School-Related Employee of the Year.
- The Principal of the Year will be the district’s nominee for the Florida Department of Education Principal Achievement Award for Outstanding Leadership.
- The Assistant Principal of the Year will be the district’s nominee for the Outstanding Assistant Principal Achievement Award.
Diamond sponsors Carl Black Orlando and Cigna, as well as Gold sponsors Ernie Morris Enterprises and South University, helped make the 2020-21 Stellar Awards possible.
