Dwyer Awards 2023: Seven teachers honored have class pets, science labs and school gardens

During another tough year of making up for time lost due to COVID-19 and the politicization of classroom lessons and libraries, Palm Beach County educators shone through and made a difference in their students' lives.

The 2023 Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education were presented to seven teachers Monday night at the Kravis Center to honor their spirit and dedication to Palm Beach County's 180,000 students.

The best of the best represent Northmore, South Olive, Discovery Key and Pioneer Park elementaries as well as The Conservatory School and Suncoast High School.

Superintendent Mike Burke opened the evening from the Kravis Center stage, calling the awards night a "clean sweep" for public schools.

"This stage has hosted countless superstars, but tonight the stars are our teachers," Burke said. "You guys are making an indelible mark in the future of our community, and we can never thank you enough."

What is the Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education?

The Dwyer Awards were launched in 1984 to honor outstanding educators from Palm Beach County public and private schools. Supported by the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, the annual awards program highlights exemplary teaching in the community and supports educators with financial awards for their excellence in the classroom, according to the council.

Here are the winners/categories of the 2023 Dwyer Awards for Excellence in Education:

• Elementary Education: Will Rhymes of Northmore Elementary

• Early Learning Education: Magaly Hodgkiss of South Olive Elementary

• Middle School Education: Rebecca Patterson of The Conservatory School

• Senior High Education: Monica Russell of Suncoast High School

• Special Programs: Ashraf Abdelsayed of Discovery Key Elementary

• STEM Education: Kristin Delatorre of The Conservatory School

• Student Advancement and Career Education: Thomas Hrebin of Pioneer Park Elementary

From 2022: Dwyer Awards 2022: Seven teachers honored at first in-person ceremony in 2 years. Who won?

From 2021: Seven teachers - 4 in the Glades - earn coveted Dwyer Award

From 2020: Dwyer Awards: Top PBC teachers recognized for passion, innovation in the classroom

Here's what makes each of the award-winning educators stand out:

Elementary Education: Will Rhymes

He teaches Northmore Elementary students music and theatre, but Will Rhymes also uses fine arts to help children understand world history and current events.

Last year when Ukraine's cultural minister called for western allies to "boycott" Russian artists such as composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky and his holiday classic The Nutcracker, Rhymes presented the orchestral arrangement in class and discussed the move with his students. He led discussions on the reasons for the war between Russia and Ukraine, how performing arts companies plan their seasons and how music can become a touchstone in international politics.

Rhymes said since social studies isn't a tested subject for elementary school students, he tries to show how music is "interwoven" with American history, world history and global events.

'"One of our fifth-grade teachers told me, 'It’s disheartening that our students have to attend a music class to learn about the U.S. Constitution,' " he said.

In addition to his work in the classroom, Rhymes created a Young Singers group that prepares performances for the school, local community and audiences around Florida. In his recommendation for the award, Northmore Principal Cory Friess highlighted numerous awards the group has won under Rhymes' direction.

"We noticed tremendous growth in our students who were part of the Young Singers Troupe," Friess wrote of the students Rhymes took under his wing.

Early Learning Education: Magaly Hodgkiss

When other pre-K teachers have a student they can't get through to, they turn to South Olive Elementary teacher Magaly Hodgkiss.

Committed to understanding where those young students are coming from, Hodgkiss uses her 27 years as a teacher to make students feel heard. She helps them understand how to act in the classroom so they're successful when they start kindergarten.

"It is not unusual for a parent to tell me their child couldn’t wait to come back to school after an extended holiday break or for a parent of a former student to say how much their child wishes I was still their teacher," she said. "I form lasting friendships with parents, and many continue to seek my advice."

At the core of Hodgkiss' success is her deep care for children and their understanding of the world. When she learned an early childhood professional in her class spoke Spanish, the pair started teaching Spanish mini-lessons so their students could start to learn a new language or perfect phrases they heard at home.

In her free time, Hodgkiss volunteers as a guardian ad litem for kids in the care of the Department of Children and Families. She visits her children monthly, writes reports, makes recommendations for their safety and attends court hearings and events on their behalf.

A two-time finalist for the "Growing up Great" award from the Economic Council, Hodgkiss transformed South Olive's VPK program from a new idea with low enrollment to a successful, well-known program with a wait list, Principal Melinda Springman-Herrera said.

"In a time when many teachers are too emotionally and physically exhausted to give any extra, she is stepping up to the plate to make sure that ALL students have what they need, not just her own," she said in her recommendation.

Hodgkiss accepted the award by thanking her late parents and husband.

"We are truly on this Earth to be of service to others," she said of teaching.

Middle School Education: Rebecca Patterson

Rebecca Patterson loves teaching science and environmental education so much, she added an extra student to her class.

The Conservatory School @ North Palm Beach teacher's extra student has four furry legs and a big tuft of hair on her head, but Beatrice the rabbit keeps Patterson's classroom full of "wonder and excitement."

Patterson is known for stepping outside the box to help her students understand science and the environment: They've painted and built models, learned and sung songs, and created a "tie-dye T-shirt factory," where they created an "inventory" of hand-dyed T-shirts and used sales charts and ledgers to track their progress.

"I believe that we have a responsibility to not only teach our students but to also provide a safe learning environment where ALL students can feel comfortable learning, sharing and participating," she wrote of her teaching philosophy. "The classroom should be a place of inquiry and discovery."

Patterson shows her students that trying new things isn't so scary — Patterson has been the head softball coach and assistant soccer coach for the past two years. Despite never having watched an entire soccer match, she dove into the experience head first and helped create a team.

While her softball team won only one game their first season, the group went undefeated in their second season and made it to the playoffs.

"When you meet Rebecca Patterson, you know right away that she belongs with kids," Conservatory school founder Teresa Stoupas wrote. "She has changed lives, realigned trajectories and loved her students for her entire career."

Senior High Education: Monica Russell

Walking into Monica Russell's math classroom at Suncoast High School on a "review" day before an exam is more like walking into Hogwarts' Great Hall.

Russell sorts her students into houses from the Harry Potter books — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin — and the class wears their house colors as they compete in math trivia to prepare for upcoming tests. Her “Suncoast School of Mathematical Witchcraft and Wizardry” helps overcome one of her biggest challenges.

"As one of the biggest obstacles facing a math teacher is getting your students to want to come to class, I try to make my classroom feel more like a home," she wrote.

That obstacle grew to be even bigger during the pandemic, when Russell said the years became a "blur of learning how to teach virtually, working on engagement with ceiling fans, foreheads, and blank screens."

During that time, Russell learned about "Steve's Club," a student group started by an Atlantic High teacher for students who had lost one or both parents. She knew she had to bring the club to Suncoast.

Now, the group is a space to build student community so no one feels alone in their grief.

"I try to be another adult resource for these students to help guide them through their time in high school and support them through the college, job, and/or trade school application processes," she wrote. "The grief these students face, while also being met with the rigor of Suncoast and the obstacles of being a teenager, has mostly gone unnoticed by our school system. This group is so important for these kids to not feel so alone."

When she accepted the award, Russell thanked her son Luke. She said she's motivated to teach each day so she can "become the teacher I want him to have."

Special Programs: Ashraf Abdelsayed

Another educator who engages students by transforming their classroom, Ashraf Abdelsayed has created a full-scale science laboratory in his room at Discovery Key Elementary.

He begins each lesson by directing students to put on their lab coats and goggles.

"Before turning my classroom into a science lab, I felt that my students struggled and had a difficult time grasping the material and collaborating with one another," he wrote. "Since performing hands-on science experiments, my students have learned to collaborate, take turns, take responsibility for their actions, and socialize with one another."

That's important because Abdelsayed primarily works with students who have autism, whose habits and behaviors can sometimes come off to others as negative or awkward. He said that's not the case when a teacher takes time to slow down and put effort into understanding a student's behavior.

Abdelsayed and his classroom team, which includes a speech-language pathologist and an occupational therapist, often take photos and videos of their students during science labs to send home to their parents. Parents and students have told him through tears how special the photos and videos are.

"Often, families of children with disabilities may feel isolated or alone," he wrote. "Many of my students have significant communication impairments and struggle to discuss the details of their school day with their families. Providing my students with real-life visuals increases their ability to describe their emotions and communicate academic content learned at school to their families at home."

As he accepted his award, Abdelsayed's colleagues chanted "We love you!" from the crowd. He said "I love you too," from the stage, and dedicated the award to a late Discovery Key colleague.

STEM Education: Kristin Delatorre

Bugs of all shapes and sizes can thank Kristin Delatorre's class at The Conservatory School @ North Palm Beach for the new home.

Last year, Delatorre's class became amateur entomologists and studied the areas around the school and a local park for insect patterns. They learned about native and invasive bug species, and designed bee hotels and watering stations. When the class determined bugs needed a better ecosystem nearby, the class planned and created a wildflower for the school's grounds named "Pollinator's Paradise."

Those types of projects are what fuel Delatorre to take STEM to the next level for second grade students at The Conservatory School.

"I wholeheartedly believe their academic success and burgeoning love of learning will carry them far into the future— a future where their empathy, knowledge of the world, and innovative contributions will generate real change," she wrote.

Delatorre also inspired her students to launch a website called The Little Caregivers, a student-run blog where they share what they're working on in class with the world. The blog posts range from an introduction to the class pet hamster Gus Gus to an explanation of Morse Code.

"Not all students learn in the same way or show their understanding through paper and pencil tests, so Kristin has found ways to allow her students to show what they learn in non-traditional ways," Conservatory School assistant principal Rachel Biehl wrote of Delatorre. "These amazing displays of learning are seen in every corner of her classroom."

When she accepted her award, Delatorre said she'd lived her "wildest dream."

Student Advancement and Career Education: Thomas Hrebin

While Pioneer Park Elementary recently improved its school score from a "D" to a "B," school counselor Thomas Hrebin noticed that young students were still spending a tremendous amount of time outside class for behavior issues. If they weren't in class, they weren't learning.

He decided to step in and create a mentor program focused on anger management and social skills for fourth- and fifth-grade boys.

Hrebin developed daily "point" sheets for the 16 students and held weekly discussion groups to help them connect. In one year, the number of referrals for those students dropped by more than 50%, he said. The program was expanded the following year to include fourth- and fifth-grade girls, too.

Hrebin's hope is that by modeling good behavior and helping students understand their emotions, those students can succeed far after elementary school.

His efforts are also reflected in the number of fifth-grade students who go on the end-of-the-year trip to Washington, D.C.

"Since the students I serve come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, the parents have very limited resources and funds to send their children," Hrebin explained.

To make it happen, Hrebin organized community service, car washes and volunteer experiences for students to earn money to go on the trip. He networked with nearby businesses and community organizations in Belle Glade to sponsor students, and helped translate letters of support for students to Spanish and Haitian Creole for them to bring home.

As a result, students could take the field trip to the nation's capital. For some, it was the first trip outside Palm Beach County in their lifetimes.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer Awards for teachers 2023: Who won in Palm Beach County?