Just Announced!

Fairfax County Public Schools
Secondary School Counseling Specialist
Congratulations to Valerie Hardy, Director of Student Services at Kilmer Middle School, who has been named the Secondary School Counseling Specialist for FCPS. Valerie is a dedicated educator who has worked in both traditional and alternative school settings as a teacher, school counselor, and Director for the past 12 years. As a school counselor, she was instrumental in her school becoming the first in FCPS to earn RAMP.  Valerie currently serves as the middle school vice president-elect for the Virginia School Counselor Association, as an advisory team member with the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA), and as a member of the ASCA School Counselor of the Year selection committee.  We look forward to welcoming Valerie to the School Counseling office on November 22.


Frederick County Announces School Counselor as 2012 Teacher of the Year!

Congratulations Courtney McCalley



Chesterfield County Names a Middle School Counselor
 as Middle School Teacher of the year!

Congratulations to Phyllis Holliman! 

Chesterfield names 2012 Teacher of the Year
    Ann Zyglocke is the 2012 Teacher of the Year for Chesterfield County Public Schools. With 24 years of experience, she teaches third-grade students in the Center Based Gifted program at Winterpock Elementary School. Her award was announced today during a surprise visit to Winterpock Elementary by School Board members and Superintendent Marcus Newsome, who brought congratulations, roses, balloons and cake.
    “Mrs. Zyglocke is an amazing teacher and a wonderful colleague,” wrote Heavenly Husick, a fellow teacher at Winterpock Elementary. “A parent recently stated that [Ann Zyglocke] has ‘an undeniable knack for making even the most mundane subject matters interesting. Her excitement about teaching is so contagious that the children become completely infected with curiosity and enthusiasm.’ She encourages her students to become scientists, explorers, engineers and humanitarians through her creative approach to teaching.”
    Annually, every Chesterfield County school selects a Teacher of the Year. Chesterfield County Public Schools then selects from those honorees an Elementary School Teacher of the Year, a Middle School Teacher of the Year and a High School Teacher of the Year, then chooses the countywide Teacher of the Year from those three honorees. Phyllis Hollimon, a school counselor at Bailey Bridge Middle, is Chesterfield’s Middle School Teacher of the Year. Allyson Midgley, who teaches French at Clover Hill High, is Chesterfield’s High School Teacher of the Year. Hollimon and Midgley also learned of their awards today during surprise visits from School Board members and the superintendent.
“Our teachers are superstars, and our school system and community are stronger because of their skill, creativity and commitment. Their accomplishments are one of the main reasons that Chesterfield County Public Schools is nationally recognized as a high-achieving school division,” Dr. Newsome said.
     Zyglocke earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has worked in Chesterfield County Public Schools her entire career: Crestwood Elementary 1987-1997, Swift Creek Elementary 1997-2004, Grange Hall Elementary 2004-2008 and Winterpock Elementary since 2008.
    “My philosophy about teaching and about student learning is that knowledge is there to be discovered through activity and curiosity and a sense of wonder,” Zyglocke wrote. “More than anything, I want my students to move on at the end of the year with the belief that learning is one of life’s great pleasures. … My belief in learning through discovery and experimentation and curiosity is demonstrated daily in my classroom. It is a place of humor, excitement and sharing, but also one of discipline where children respect the learning environment.”
   The next step is submitting Zyglocke’s nomination to the Virginia Department of Education, which will select eight regional Teachers of the Year from across the state, then will choose the Virginia Teacher of the Year from the eight regional winners.