Lemoore High School educator and library technician earn district's nod for annual teacher, employee awards

The two will join other county administrators, teachers and school employees at the Kings County Excellence in Education Awards dinner April 2, 2019, where county officials will announce the county’s top administrator, teacher, and school employee.

Strong, a longtime mathematics and leadership instructor, is a Lemoore High graduate and is married to a former Tiger and teacher. Her husband Jerod is an LHS grad, and he teaches math at Hanford’s JFK Junior High School. The couple has two children, Kadin, a freshman and Skylar, a local fifth grader.

Valerie Botelho, the administrator in charge of the Lemoore High School District Alternative Education program, nominated Strong, the 38-year-old, a teacher at Lemoore High School since 2005. “I originally taught just mathematics,” said Strong. “Then I took on the school’s leadership class, but now solely do (the school’s) activities work. I still teach Leadership 1 and 2.”

Cathy Zaharris is shown at her regular perch in the Lemoore High School Library where she has been a library technician for 24 years. She will compete for Kings County Employee of the Year.

Strong is a 1998 LHS graduate who played volleyball and served in the school’s leadership program. She fondly remembers her advisor, Jim Bennett, who eventually served as the school’s principal and became her boss. Strong attended California State University, Long Beach where she earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies with a concentration in mathematics and a minor in dance.

“I became a teacher because I grew up always noticing how much other people struggled with math. Explaining and breaking down math concepts always came easy to me, and I enjoyed helping others in my classes. One day, though, I thought I could get paid for this.”

She recently took on the school’s activities job organizing the myriad of activities and events at Lemoore High School. She still teaches the school’s leadership program, which she enjoys. “I am honored to receive this award,” she said. “I love my job and consider myself a Tiger for life.”

Zaharris is another popular employee at the high school where she helps manage the library. “I was very honored and surprised to be chosen,” she said when told of her selection as the district’s top employee.

Originally from England, she met her husband while stationed at the Upper Heyford Air Force Base near Oxford, England. The couple spent time at military bases in Idaho and New Mexico before transferring to Naval Air Station Lemoore.

“I have been employed as the Lemoore High School Library Technician for the past 24 years,” said Zaharris. “My goal is to make the library a welcoming place for everyone. The library at Lemoore High School is not the traditional quiet place. I see it more of a student union, where students can gather to read and visit with friends, work on homework together, or play cards and board games.”

Zaharris said that students need to be encouraged to put down their phones and interact with each other. “Learning to interact socially is just as important to student achievement as being successful academically. I am here to help students with whatever they need, whether it’s book suggestions, reading a paper, help with college applications, resumes, or just to listen.  Everyone has a dream job, and this is mine,” said Zaharris.