73 honorees were nominated by their supervisors and recognized at the annual Excellence in Education Awards on May 15 at Mountain View High School. The honorees included bus drivers, counselors, kitchen managers, teachers, custodians, office managers, educational assistants and others who have improved students’ education and experience in school.

One of the honorees was Summit’s own Social Studies teacher Marni Spitz.

“Teaching is not a competitive profession and there’s not a lot of chances to be celebrated [so] honestly I was really surprised and really humbled, and truly so honored,” said Spitz.

Towards the end of the program, Bend-La Pine Schools chose 14 finalists for the certified employee of the year and certified support staff employee of the year awards to be announced in the upcoming 2024-2025 school year.

The support staff of the year finalists include: Carisa Gregg, Amanda Caffro, Tom Hollingshead, Nicole Garroutte, Tiffany Schreiber, Bobbi Nelson and Glen Carey. The certified employee of the year finalists include: Heidi Dixon, Lauren Miller, Cameron Salvitelli, Terri Wolnick, Mary Dean, Kristina Ebner and Emily Curfew.

With so many amazing educators and staff in Bend-La Pine Schools, the excellence in education awards are a great way to recognize some of our school’s leaders in education.