Press release:

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is proud to announce the winners of the 2024-25 Outstanding Educator Awards. These exceptional employees have demonstrated a profound commitment to the success and well-being of our educational community. This year, PWCS recognized finalists in the categories of Support Employee, Novice Teacher, Teacher, and Principal of the Year.

Each winner received a $1,500 award, sponsored by PWCS business partner, Apple Federal Credit Union.

Congratulations to these exemplary employees.

• Support Employee of the Year, Connor Sadler, administrative assistant at Potomac High School.
• Novice Teacher of the Year for grades Pre-K-5, Destiny Fauntleroy, Sinclair Elementary School.
• Novice Teacher of the Year for grades 6-12, Sara Antillon, Gainesville High School.
• Teacher of the Year for grades Pre-K-5, Kristen Hao, Westridge Elementary School.
• Teacher of the Year for grades 6-12, Kelly Wasson, Independence Nontraditional School.
• Principal of the Year for grades Pre-K-5, Heather Goode, Sinclair Elementary School.
• Principal of the Year for grades 6-12, Amanda Johnson, The Nokesville School.

Also honored at the ceremony were the educators who received or renewed their National Board Certification.

Congratulations to all our winners, finalists, and nominees for being outstanding role models to PWCS students and staff. Your dedication and commitment have not only been recognized but have also played a crucial role in helping our students thrive.

This post has been corrected. 

Osbourn Park High School has received the Virginia School Breakfast Award from the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) for its success in expanding breakfast access, maintaining nutritional integrity, and serving more scratch-cooked meals. The school is one of three recipients this year.

Cafeteria manager Nidia Bruno expressed gratitude for the recognition, emphasizing the team’s dedication to feeding students. Andrea Early, director of Food and Nutrition, noted that breakfast participation at Osbourn Park has increased by 30% and praised the cafeteria team for efficiently managing the expanded program. The school benefits from the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Program, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students.

PWCS has seen a district-wide increase of 2,000 more breakfasts served per day compared to last year. The menu includes hot and cold options, along with seasonal smoothies for middle and high school students. VDOE officials will visit Osbourn Park during School Breakfast Week in March to present the award.

More in a press release:

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) awarded Osbourn Park High School with the Virginia School Breakfast Award. This award recognizes schools achieving success in school breakfast, including expanding breakfast access to students, maintaining the nutritional integrity of foods offered, and serving more scratch-cooked foods. Osbourn Park High was one of three recipients this year.

Nidia Bruno, cafeteria manager at Osbourn Park, shared her excitement surrounding the award. “I feel so thankful and so happy for my team. We all work so hard and being recognized like this keeps us going,” Bruno shared. “At the end of the day, the most important thing for us is to feed our kids at Osbourn Park. We have a good family here.”

Andrea Early, director of Food and Nutrition, said Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is serving more breakfasts per day compared to last year with Osbourn Park seeing an increase in breakfast participation by about 30%.

“All of our schools in PWCS do such a fabulous job with breakfast service. We are serving about 2,000 more breakfasts per day this year compared to last year,” Early said.

She commended the Osbourn Park cafeteria team for ensuring a smooth breakfast process for students.

“Nidia and her team have really responded to this school being added to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Program,” Early shared. “CEP means that all students receive free breakfast and lunch but if they have to wait in long lines, they may not access breakfast. This team has worked hard to open extra breakfast lines so that they can get kids the good nutrition they need.”

Along with expanding the breakfast program, PWCS school breakfast menus offer a wide range of choices such as hot and cold food options and a seasonal smoothie for middle and high school students.

Members of the VDOE plan to visit Osbourn Park to present the award during School Breakfast Week, which is held the first week of March.

Press Release:

The Virginia Department of Education has selected Greendale Elementary School in Washington County and Belmont Elementary School in Prince William County as Virginia’s two 2024 ESEA Distinguished Schools.

Recognized for exceptional student performance for two consecutive years, Washington County’s Greendale Elementary School made noteworthy gains in reading and science SOL scores, improving by nine and fourteen points respectively in the last year. The school implemented key literacy initiatives, such as targeted reading interventions, an open library, and ongoing professional development for school staff. The school also focused on data driven instruction such as formative and summative assessments to guide differentiation; explicit teaching with clear demonstrations and guided practice; tailored instruction for personalized interventions; and small group instruction and remediation.

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