Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - 10:53am By Ed Martin, Editor
Lemoore Liberty Middle School principal, Ben Luis, celebrates with staff and students after his selection as the Kings County Administrator of the Year Tuesday night at the Kings County Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony.
Lemoore Liberty Middle School principal, Ben Luis, celebrates with staff and students after his selection as the Kings County Administrator of the Year Tuesday night at the Kings County Excellence in Education Awards Ceremony.
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

Lemoore education, in a way, was one of the big winners at Tuesday night’s Excellence in Education Awards ceremony held at Hanford’s Civic Center. When all was said and done, Kings County’s top administrator and employee both hail from Lemoore.

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.

Nominees and finalists from Lemoore (L to R) Anna Covarrubias, Catherine Zaharris, Ben Luis, Anne Strong, and Theresa Soto.
Nominees and finalists from Lemoore (L to R) Anna Covarrubias, Catherine Zaharris, Ben Luis, Anne Strong, and Theresa Soto.
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

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.

Kings County Office of Education winners Tuesday night: Isaias Ramirez, Teacher of the Year, Corcoran High School; Ben Luis, Administrator of the Year, Liberty Middle School, and Jose Antuna, Employee of the Year, Kings County Office of Education.
Kings County Office of Education winners Tuesday night: Isaias Ramirez, Teacher of the Year, Corcoran High School; Ben Luis, Administrator of the Year, Liberty Middle School, and Jose Antuna, Employee of the Year, Kings County Office of Education.
Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

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

Teacher of the Year

Employee of the Year

*Winners are in bold