Honorees Archive
April


The Salem School Board held its monthly meeting for April inside the library at South Salem Elementary on April 12. The Board members took the opportunity to recognize G.W. Carver and East Salem elementary schools, as well as the entire Salem School Division for the Title I honors all three recently received from the Commonwealth.

The Virginia Board of Education recognized the Salem City School Division as one of seven school divisions in the Commonwealth of Virginia to raise the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students. Carver and East are two of just 104 schools statewide to receive this honor.

East Salem Principal, Diane Rose, is joined by her assistant Principal, Kristyn Shepherd, Director of Assessment and G.W. Carver Principal, Joe Coleman, School Division Director of Elementary Education, Diane Washenberger and School Board Chair, Sally Southard, at the meeting.
March

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The Salem City School Board recognized the winners of this year’s spelling bee at their regular March board meeting.  Kimberly Cox, a sixth grader at Andrew Lewis Middle School, won this year’s Bee in the 34th round of competition.
 
Elementary winners Jill Jariwala, Audrey Lewis and Mark Raines also were in attendance to recieve their honors.  Garrison Conner was unable to attend.
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The Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology recently held its annual project Forum. Salem High School students performed well at the competition as Carrington Austin won first place in the Biochemistry/Chemistry category.  Ellison Heil was 2nd in Environmental Management.  Elliot Rieflin was third in Robotics and Jade Andrade, who was unable to attend the meeting, won a second place award in Energy/Transportation.
 
February

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The School Board congratulated Carolyn Pillis for her work on a program that helps students maintain their academic skills over the summer and for her success in receiving a $500 grant from the Virginia Federal Education Program Administrators to help with funding for the "Summer Sacks" project.
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The board also recognized and congratulated James Forester for receiving a classroom mini-grant from the Virginia Professional Educators, and for his efforts to provide an excellent educational opportunity for his students, consistent with School Board Core Values. Forester used the grant to purchase a programmable robot (IntelliBrain-Bot) to use with his programming classes. 
 
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Superintendent, Dr. Alan Seibert, recognized the Salem School Board for their work to uphold the core values of the Division as part of School Board Appreciation Month.
 
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The School Board recognized one of its most valuable players at its February meeting as School Board Clerk, Kathy Jordan, was presented with a certificate and gift of appreciation from the board members during’s Clerk’s week in the Commonwealth.
 
January

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The Salem School board recognized longtime Salem School Board member and state educator William Sinkler and its first meeting of 2011 by unanimously passing Resolution #193. Sinkler retired from the Salem School Board at the end of 2010 after nearly two decades of service. He first joined the Salem School Board in 1993 and immediately became a voice of reason and a sounding board for his fellow board members. He brought a tremendous amount of on-the-job knowledge to the board based on his experiences in education. For nearly 40 years he served students in Roanoke and Lynchburg cities as a teacher and principal. Sinkler was joined by his wife Marzetta as well as friends from the community and former board members as he received the honor.

The Salem School Board recognized Robert Penn for his efforts to promote and coordinate the Rule of Law Project in the Salem City School Division. The board also recognized attorney Mike Pace for his leadership in the Rule of Law Project, first here in Salem and now throughout the entire Commonwealth.

The Rule of Law Project is an educational initiative for middle school students.The purpose of this multi-faceted program is to inspire students to become active citizens by helping them appreciate and protect the rights we enjoy under our laws and the responsibilities we share as American citizens. 
December

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The Salem City School Board held its final meeting of 2010 tonight at the Central Office on College Avenue and recognized Carolyn Pillis, a teacher at G. W. Carver Elementary, for her leadership when it comes to "green" initiatives in the School Division. For the past couple of years the school division has participated in the "Green" Public School Challenge, which is a friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of specific environmental policies and practical actions that reduce the carbon emissions generated by both the local school division and the broader community. The competition is sponsored by a number of organizations within the state; The Virginia Municipal League, The Virginia Association of Counties, The Virginia School Boards Association and The Virginia Association of Independent Schools. This year the City of Salem Schools was awarded the Silver Certification. The division accumulated 132 points out of a total of 200.
 
November

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Tony Weikle, owner of Certified Collision in Salem was honored by the School Board for his contributions to the Auto Body Program at Salem High School. Weikle is a 1985 graduate of Salem High School with 25 years of experience in the automotive industry.

Since 2005, he has been an indispensable member of our Auto Body Advisory Committee, providing insight, programming suggestions and financial support for the Auto Body program at Salem High School.

 

 
 
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Dwayne Gauck was honored by the Salem School Board for being selected as the Chemistry
Teacher of the Year by the James Madison University Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry. Gauck has 20 years of teaching experience and is in his 11th year with Salem City
Schools where he teaches IB and Pre-IB Chemistry at Salem High School.
 
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John Millard was honored by the Salem School Board and presented Resolution 191 recognizing
his outstanding contributions to the Division. Millard served as a teacher, coach and
administrator in the Commonwealth for 40 years. Twenty-five of those years were spent at
West Salem Elementary where he led the teachers and students as the school’s principal.
 
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Mike Akers was honored by the Salem School Board and presented Resolution 192 recognizing
his outstanding contributions to the Division. Akers spent 35 years in education and he was a
charter member when Salem began its own Division in 1983. He served the division well as a
teacher, coach and administrator. He spent all 27 years of his Salem career at Andrew Lewis.

 
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Salem City Council unanimously appointed two individuals to brand new terms on the Salem School Boardat its meeting Monday night.   Current School Board Chair, Sally Southard, was named to another three-year term, while Artice Ledbetter, a community volunteer and the mother of three children who attend Salem schools, was appointed to her first term on the board.

Mrs. Ledbetter will step into the spot being vacated by William Sinkler, who is retiring at the end of the year.  Sinkler is a lifelong educator who has been a member of Salem's School Board since 1993.

 
 
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