Lemoore, and county educators, employees clean up at annual Kings County Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony in Hanford
Ben Luis, 43, Lemoore Liberty Middle School principal, and a Lemoore High School graduate, was a big winner. Luis, who attended West Hills College and Fresno Pacific University while earning a bachelor’s degree and a teaching credential from Chapman University was named the county’s top administrator. He outlasted Corcoran High School's Edwin Larkin, a learning director, LaVonne Chastain, a learning coordinator for the Kings County Office of Education, and Richard Rose, MOT director with the Pioneer Union Elementary School District.
The Kings County Office of Education also named its 2019 Teacher of the Year, Isaias Ramirez, a physical education instructor from Corcoran High School. Jose Antuna, a maintenance custodian at the Lemoore Service Center, a branch of the Kings County Office of Education, was Lemoore’s other top pick Tuesday night as this year’s top employee.
Luis is a longtime teacher and administrator at the Lemoore Elementary School District where he taught fifth grade for seven years before getting a job as an assistant principal. He’s currently in his 10th year as Liberty Middle School’s principal. “I got into education because I was coaching and it was a natural progression into teaching,” said Luis.
It wasn’t that surprising to many attending Tuesday’s annual event that the personable Luis was a Kings County finalist, no less named the county’s top administrator. Under his watch, Liberty Middle School was recently named a State and National School to Watch. The school has an enrollment of about 630 students and employs 35 teachers.
Lemoore High School Library Technician Catherine Zaharris and Lemoore High School Leadership Teacher Anne Strong (a teacher of the year nominee) were both nominated from within the high school district with Zaharris making the finals in the employee of the year category. Locally, Theresa Soto, a Cinnamon Elementary School Teacher was also nominated. Lemoore Middle School also had an employee of the year nominee in Anna Covarrubias, a special education paraprofessional.
The finalists for Teacher of the Year include Pioneer Middle School’s Sheryl McCarty, a math instructor, and Corcoran High School’s Ramirez, a physical education teacher, and the eventual winner.
Excellence in Education Awards
Administrator/Manager of the Year
- LaVonne Chastain, Education Learning Coordinator - Kings County Office of Education
- Edwin Larkin, Learning Director - Corcoran High School, Corcoran Unified School District
- Ben Luis, Principal - Liberty Middle School, Lemoore Union Elementary School District
- Richard Rose, MOT Director - Pioneer Union Elementary School District
Teacher of the Year
- Sheryl McCarty, Math Teacher - Pioneer Middle School, Pioneer Union Elementary School District
- Isaias Ramirez, Physical Education Teacher - Corcoran High School, Corcoran Unified School District
- Theresa Soto, First Grade Teacher - Cinnamon Elementary School, Lemoore Union Elementary School District
- Anne Strong, Leadership Teacher - Lemoore High School, Lemoore Union High School District
Employee of the Year
- Jose Antuna, Maintenance Custodian - Lemoore Service Center, Kings County Office of Education
- Esmeralda Barajas, Registrar - Corcoran High School, Corcoran Unified School District
- Anna Covarrubias, Special Education Paraprofessional - Liberty Middle School, Lemoore Union Elementary School District
- Rosemarie Lopes-Horn, Alt. Education Administrative Assistant, Hanford Adult School
- Rosa Mendez, Secretary - Pioneer Middle School, Pioneer Union Elementary School District
- Catherine Zaharris, Library Technician - Lemoore High School, Lemoore Union High School District
*Winners are in bold
