Building Winners for Teacher of the Year & Staff of the Year are Announced

Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation is proud to share this year’s building winners for Teacher of the Year (TOY), and Staff of the Year (SOY)! This year's building TOY winners included the following: Jill Chastain - Fortville Elementary School (FES), Kayla Negley - McCordsville Elementary (MES), Liz Moan - Mt. Comfort Elementary (MCE), Karen Riesterer - Mt. Vernon High School (MVHS), Courtney Stroup - Mt. Vernon Middle School (MVMS) and Dana Hochstedler (Admin/multiple buildings). SOY winners included the following: Dawn Teschendorf (FES), Emily Snider (MES), Wendy Mayo (MCE), Jennifer Hohnbaum (MVHS), Julie Wilson (MVMS) and Lisa Heitman (Admin). Special thanks to the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation for sponsoring Mt. Vernon’s TOY and SOY. 

The selection process starts with the staff in each building nominating their colleagues. The top three nominated teachers and staff members were then rated by their peers on these factors that the winners must possess: dedication, team player, caring, student-centered, lifelong learner, and innovative. The top rated TOY/SOY then became the building winners. The building winners will submit an application to the MVEF TOY/SOY committee. The committee used the Indiana Department of Education’s TOY scoring rubric to evaluate each building winner and determine the overall MVCSC District TOY and SOY winners.  

Both district winners will receive a $2,500 stipend through the Ryan Fry Excellence in Education Award, thanks to the generosity of MVEF donors, Jill and Kevin Prefontaine. The cash award was created in honor of Jill’s brother Ryan. Both Ryan and Jill were MV graduates and their father Kenneth was a math teacher at Mt. Vernon for over 30 years. This award aligns itself and supports the MVEF Strategic Plan "in encouraging and recognizing excellence and ingenuity among our educators and staff.” 

The Mt. Vernon Education Foundation (MVEF) will announce the TOY and SOY awards at the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation’s Black and Gold Gala on April 1. Please join this fun evening that supports Mt. Vernon Schools. Ticket or sponsor information can be found here.