Three special students earned the Dockweiler Award from Homewood School District 153 for their outstanding efforts last school year.
Genesis Kimbrough
receives the Dockweiler
Award for her outstanding
efforts. Honoring her are,
from left, Tom Dockweiler;
Shelly Marks, school board
president; Melissa Lawson,
Willow School principal;
and District 153
Superintendent Dale
Mitchell. (Photos by
Marilyn Thomas/H-F
Chronicle)
Three special students earned the Dockweiler Award from Homewood School District 153 for their outstanding efforts last school year.
Tom Dockweiler, for whom the award is named, retired from the board after 20 years of service. He presented the awards at the Sept. 18 school board meeting.
During his tenure he said it was always his desire to “raise the bar” to move the district forward.
This award is given to students who do the same types of things. These students were judged in part for their outstanding scores on district testing that showed exceptional improvements.
Caylum Ganshirt receives
the Dockweiler Award
in recognition of his
improving his
standardized tests
scores more than 500
percent. Honoring him
are, from left, Shelly
Marks, school board
president, Tom
Dockweiler,
Churchill School
Principal Nikki Kerr
and District 153
Superintendent Dale
Mitchell.
“The achievements we’re here to talk about are really quite amazing,” Dockweiler said. “It’s a kind of personal achievement for your school performance.”
Genesis Kimbrough first came to Willow School as a three-year-old in the preschool program. During the next five years, “we got to see her confidence grow over time,” said Principal Melissa Lawson who described her as “an amazing artist.”
Last year, teachers expected her growth to be around 158 points on her standardized tests. Genesis went well beyond, earning 545 points.
Caylum Ganshirt of Churchill School is a wonderful friend, said Principal Nikki Kerr. His outstanding achievement was his scores in reading and math. Caylum improved by more than 500 points.
Alexis DeLeon received
the Dockweiler Award
for improvement in
test scores and
perfect grade
point average.
Honoring her are,
from left, Hart
Principal Scott
McAlister, Tom
Dockweiler, Shelly
Marks, school board
president, and
District 153
Superintendent Dale
Mitchell.
Eighth grader Alexis DeLeon of James Hart School showed “tremendous growth” because of her hard work, said Principal Scott McAlister. Her standardized test math score increased more than 100 percent and her reading score went up more than 50 percent.
McAlister said those are excellent reports, but DeLeon went even further. Over the three semesters last year, her grade point average jumped from 3.2 to 3.6 to a perfect 4.0. Of the 775 students, it was obvious DeLeon would receive the Dockweiler honor, McAlister told the audience filled with family members who filled the school’s Resource Center for the presentation.
School performance may be credited to the teachers and what schools can offer students, Dockweiler said. But he gave special recognition to the parents who he credited with supporting their children’s initiatives.