Story and Pictures by Dr. Yvonne D. Nelson For the month of March 2019, the Businesses United to Recognize Educators (B.U.R.E.) honored the following individuals with Outstanding Educators of the Month awards in the following categories… Attorney Dorsey E. Hopson II, Esq. Dr. Joris M. Ray, Shelby County Schools Superintendent Brian Stockton, Shelby County Schools Chief of Staff Keith O. Williams, Shelby County Education Association, Executive Director The 2019 African American History Legacy in Education Award (All) Cynthia Amis Dickerson, Author The Ruby J. Payne Outstanding Author of the Month Award Dr. Vera Downey, Oakshire Elementary –Legacy School, Retired Elementary Educator The Willie W. Herenton Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award Damon E. Friends, Airways Achievement Academy The Commodore C. Primous Outstanding Male Educator of the Month Award James F. Hughes, SCS Professional Asbestos Technician The Pat B. Moore Outstanding Auxiliary Educator of the Month Award Audrey M. Johnson, Hamilton Middle School The John W. White Outstanding Principal of the Month Award Audrey M. Johnson, Hamilton Middle School The Sara L. Lewis Outstanding School of the Month Award Dr. Yvonne D. Nelson, Senior Publicist, NEWSCENE newsmagazine online at iLoveShelbyCounty.com The Jimmy Delnoah Williams Friend to Education Award Tyjauna L. Smith, Westhaven Elementary School The Margaret Bland McKissick-Larry Outstanding Female Educator of the Month Award Erica S. Streeter, DuBois Elementary School of Arts and Technology, Parent-Teacher Association President The Kiwayna and Trennie Lanier Williams Outstanding Parent of the Month Award Gwendolyn Wright, Tennessee Commission Regional Coordinator The Ophelia Watson Flowers Outstanding Program of the Month Award The monthly event is held in the auditorium at the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, 126 Flicker Street, behind the Shelby County Board of Education Building. The program began at 5 p.m. with an opening and welcome by CrownStar Enterprises, President; StarNewsVIP.com, Publisher and Editor; Memphis Silver Star News, Associate Publisher and Editor; and Airways Lamar Business Association, President and CEO, Trennie L. Williams. The first four awardees were awarded with the 2019 African American History Legacy in Education Award. Upon receiving a unanimous vote by the Shelby County School Board in 2018, Dr. Joris M. Ray, a product of Whitehaven High School with a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Memphis, was recently installed as the Interim Superintendent of Shelby County Schools. He was the one of the four awardees in this category to speak and he spoke directly to the “marvelous job” our SCS teachers perform on a daily basis. “Our teachers do a marvelous job on a daily basis,” said Ray, a 20-plus year MCS/SCS employee, who began to talk about the steps to Destination 2025, a 10-year strategic plan designed to (1) improve the quality of public education, (2) create a more knowledgeable productive workforce that will (3) ultimately benefit the entire Shelby County community. “Step two is social-emotional learning which talks about childhood trauma. Our teachers everyday deal with traumatic situations. Teachers, if they can just get to delivering instruction, because they have to wipe noses, take people to the restroom, call momma’s… that’s the plight of teachers. To the educators in the room, We have to take our own profession seriously, we have to walk the walk and talk the talk. I am a teacher first, I love Shelby County Schools, and there is victory in a classroom everyday. We have students [who are] hurting, [who are] suffering, and we have to reach them. We’ve got to do something about it.” Mr. Keith O. Williams, Memphis Shelby County Education Association Executive Director spoke next. After reciting a poem and thanking his wife of 46 years for her 39 years of loyalty to the profession, he spoke briefly detailing his history 18
19 Publizr Home