CISD honoring 12 district GEMS with awards

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Angelina Liu

Coppell kindergarten teacher Annmarie Vincenzo holds her Great Employees Matter plaque in Canyon Ranch.Elementary on Wednesday. Vincenzo was nominated for this award by her colleagues for going above and beyond with her teaching.

Manasa Mohan, Staff Writer
January 22, 2021

Coppell ISD has numerous established traditions set in place in order to acknowledge their employee’s hard work and dedication to the job, including Super Teacher and Teacher of the Year.

Recently, the district announced the 12 deserving staff members who received Great Employees Matter (GEM) awards for fall 2020. This internal employee recognition program recognizes staff members who exemplify CISD core values. GEM awards are given twice every school year by CISD to recognize employees who exceed expectations.

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They’re difference makers in our building, they’re difference makers in our kids’ lives. Recognizing those things is vitally important for us to do for our educators who are there for kids.

— CHS Principal Laura Springer

 “[When I found out I won this award], honestly, I was shocked and thankful,” Victory Place @ Coppell instructional aide Coppell Gabriel Lopez said. “Being an instructional aide, you don’t expect to win an award this big. I come to work everyday just wanting to impact those around me with what I have been given, so it honestly just took me by surprise to know that I got selected as a winner of the GEM award.” 

The face of teaching and education has changed drastically since this pandemic began with teachers now having to balance in-person students and virtual students. The district is recognizing the employees who are exceeding expectations during this difficult year. 

Nominated by their fellow colleagues, Becca Conn (Lakeside Elementary), Kirby Leonard (Lakeside Elementary), Diane de Waal (Coppell High School), Sara Hope (Pinkerton Elementary), Gabriel Lopez (Victory Place at Coppell), Julie Mosty (Mockingbird Elementary), Genaro Lopez (Director of Facilities and Maintenance) Marly Natherson (Town Center Elementary), Micha Patel (educational diagnostician for intervention services), Gena Pellman (Cottonwood Creek Elementary), Stephanie Robertson (Coppell Middle School North), and Annmarie Vincenzo (Canyon Ranch Elementary), were recognized for going above and beyond for their students during this tumultuous year.

“We have teachers in this building who go over and beyond,” Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer said. “We need to recognize those people. They’re difference makers in our building; they’re difference makers in our kids’ lives. Recognizing those things is vitally important for us to do for our educators who are there for kids.”

“I collaborated with our kindergarten and first grade teachers [in which] our learners coded robots and designed their own balloons, and they had their own parade in the library with their robots,” Mosty said. “Other districts ended up coming to observe so they could see some of the innovative things going on in our library.”

The top 10 employees who receive this honorable award are recognized before the Board of Trustees. In addition, their names will be honored at the school board meeting on Feb. 22 . The award provides recipients with reassurance as they begin their second semester across the district.

“This year has been challenging all of us, students and teachers, and it just kind of encourages me that I am really doing my best and that my kids are learning and that they feel loved and supported,” Canyon Ranch Elementary kindergarten teacher Annmarie Vincenzo said. “Going forward, it is just going to encourage me that I am doing great things, that my kids are doing great things, to keep it up and to keep pushing myself.”

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