Faculty and Staff Achievements - Plano Independent School District

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Teachers of the Year Gregory Arp and Ronnie Cantu are pictured at the
May, 2012, Plano ISD Teacher of the Year Gala with School Board
President Tammy Richards and Superintendent of Schools Richard
Matkin. Among the teachers many gifts were “Summer in a Lexus”
packages from Park Place Lexus Plano.
2012 Plano ISD Teachers of the Year
Ronnie Cantu, Forman Elementary School fifth grade
teacher, and Gregory Arp, Plano Senior High School
performing arts director, captured the 2012 Plano ISD
Elementary and Secondary Teacher of the Year titles,
respectively, at Plano ISD’s annual Teacher of the Year
Gala. Highlighting the gala evening were recognitions of
71 experienced and 50 beginning Teacher of the Year
nominees and announcements of 10 experienced
teachers and two first-year teachers who captured
“Excellence in Teaching” awards.
Excellence in Elementary Teaching Award Winners
Carla Carter – Dooley Elementary School
Jeanne Hayes – Shepard Elementary School
Nicole McCasland – Huffman Elementary School
Shelli Stutzman – Jackson Elementary School
Excellence in Secondary Teaching Award Winners
Judith Alfaro – Bowman Middle School
Jill Engelking – McMillen High School
Jason Schreiner – Otto Middle School
Brian Seay – Clark High School
Excellence in Beginning Teaching Award Winners
Brittany Welch – Meadows Elementary School
Bianca Prado – Frankford Middle School
Forman Elementary School's Ronnie Cantu Named Region 10 Teacher of the Year
Ronnie Cantu and Gregory Arp were honored guests at the Region 10 Teacher of
the Year Luncheon held on August 14, 2012, at the Atrium in Garland. Ronnie was
further honored at the event by being named 2012 Region 10 Elementary Teacher
of the Year. “I am very grateful and honored to be amongst this distinguished
group of teachers,” Ronnie told guests at the region 10 luncheon. He was quick to
thank his mother for motivating him to be a teacher, stating, “My mother taught
Ronnie Cantu,
2012 Region 10 Elementary Teacher
of the Year
me how hard work pays off. She had three middle school aged boys when she went back to school to get her bachelor's
degree in education. So, she instilled that sense of motivation in me. I proudly dedicate this award to her.”
Ronnie also thanked his Principal Tramy Tran, who attended the luncheon with him. “Thank you so much for believing in me
and always giving me support. You have made me excel, and you do this for all of our teachers at Forman Elementary
School. I cannot wait to take this honor back to Forman to share with everyone there.”
Ronnie stated in his 2012 Teacher of the Year Program application. “Though I might not see the long term effects of my
impact on my students, I have been given the golden opportunity to mold them into the confident and compassionate
people they were meant to be. I have the chance to give them the tools to reach for their dreams – their stars.”

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2012 Superintendent‛s Service Award winners Russell Mast, Fatima Raad, Edie DeWoody
and Kumei Lu are pictured at the annual employee service award banquet with
Superintendent Richard Matkin (center).
2012 Superintendent’s
Service Award Winners
Winners of the
Superintendent’s Service
Award were announced at
Plano ISD’s 47th Annual
Salute to Service retirement
and service award banquet
held in April 2012 at
Southfork Ranch. The service
award is designed to honor
support staff members who
go beyond the call of duty as
they perform their job
responsibilities. These four
winners were among nearly
60 award nominees: Russell
Mast, copy center foreman;
Fatima Raad, Plano Senior
High School teaching
assistant; Edie DeWoody, Boggess Elementary School Pasar after-school care co-site manager; and Kumei Lu, Renner
Middle School food and nutritional services employee.
Diversity Leadership Awards
Emiliano Marquez, Williams High School, was presented with a
diversity leadership award at the 2012 Plano ISD Martin Luther King
Tribute event. He is a role model for students and families in the
Williams High School community and throughout the district.
Emiliano promotes successful community partnerships and he
coordinates programming on the Williams High School campus that
will positively impact student achievement. He is an active
participant in many civic organizations such as the United Way’s
Destination Graduation program, Communities in Schools, LULAC
and the Concilio. Emiliano continues to shape the lives of children as
only he can do—with their best interest in mind and a warm, caring
heart. The diversity leadership award is coordinated annually by the
Diversity Advisory Committee to
honor students, staff and
community members whose
actions honor the work and
ideals of Dr. King.
Plano East Senior High School
Panthers Athletic Director and
Head Football Coach, Johnny Ringo
Emiliano Marquez, Williams High School, was
presented with a diversity leadership award by
Jun Melvin, Plano ISD director of benefits and
risk management.
Plano East Senior High Head
Coach Named State High School Coaches' Association President
Plano East Senior High School Panthers Athletic Director and Head Football Coach
Johnny Ringo began leading what he calls, “The greatest group of coaches in the
world,” when the Texas High School Coaches’ Association passed him the president’s
gavel in 2012. Johnny said, “When I was a young coach, many coaches went out of
their way to help me. This is one way that I can give back, to support high school
coaches and students across the state of Texas.”

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500th Soccer Victory
Plano Senior High Boys Soccer Coach Bob Weir celebrated 500 wins on January 13, 2012, with a victory against
Richardson High School.
State Counseling Association President and President Elect
Plano West Senior High School Counselor Michael Kaprelian served as president of the Texas School Counselors’
Association in 2011-12. Michael’s focus is on serving school counselors across the state so that they can promote student
success. Lynda Shuttlesworth, executive coordinator of family education and guidance services, is serving as association
president during the 2012-13 school year.
State Counseling CREST Awards
Five Plano ISD schools’ counseling programs captured 2012 Texas School Counselor Association CREST (Counselors
Reinforcing Excellence for Students in Texas) awards. They were among 40 campuses representing 11 school districts in
Texas. Honored for their schools’ comprehensive guidance and counseling programs were counselors from Armstrong
Middle School, Barksdale Elementary School, Haun Elementary School, Isaacs Early Childhood School and Plano West
Senior High School.
Texas Foreign Language Teacher of the Year
Maritza Sloan, Plano West Senior High School Advanced Placement Spanish teacher, was named Texas Foreign Language
Teacher of the Year in October, 2011. She was also elected vice-president of the association and was appointed an AP
Spanish Language & Literature consultant by College Board last summer.
Health/P.E. Administrator of the Year
Melinda Smith, visionary leader of Plano ISD’s health and physical education programs, captured Administrator of the
Year accolades from TAHPERD (Texas Association for Health, P.E., Recreation & Dance). Ms. Smith has been active at the
local level on numerous committees and at the state level for TAHPERD and other organizations. Over the last few years,
she has become more active at the national level.
Dedicated Service to Plano Schools
Teachers Sharon Welch, Mary Jo Lewis and Rick Navarre each
dedicated 40 years of service to Plano schools as of the year
2012. They joined approximately 300 of their fellow faculty
and staff members from across the school district as honored
guests at Plano ISD’s annual employee banquet. The
employees honored were those who have dedicated 15, 20, 25,
30, 35 and 40 years of service to Plano schools.
Plano Principals’ Association Scholarship Winners
Each year, the Plano Principals’ Association (PPA) awards
scholarships to paraprofessional employees in the school
system so that they may further their education. The 2011-12
recipients were surprised at their schools by members of the
PPA Grant Patrol, Dr. Cheri Izbicki, Pearson Early Childhood
School, and Lorraine Shimizu, Christie Elementary School. The
winners were Lorena James, McCall Elementary School; Eva
Peale, Christie Elementary School; and Allison Lees, Pearson
Early Childhood School.
College Board Forum
Bruce Richardson, Plano Senior High School director of
guidance, is serving as chair of the Southwestern Regional
College Board Forum in 2012-13. This forum is an opportunity
to meet and learn from college admissions officers in the
southwest region of the country.
Plano ISD teacher members of Plano Arts Leaders received an
award of excellence at the state art educator‛s conference for
their Youth Art Month scrap book. The teachers are Rebecca
Schaefer, Matthew Grundler, Kathee Ross, Grace Woodall and
Renee Miller.
Jeopardy! Contestant
Catherine Whitten, Jasper High School Advanced Placement European History and Humanities teacher, won the first
round of Jeopardy! Teacher’s Challenge in February, 2012. She advanced to semi-finalist standing in the rigorous and
popular television show.