BELLEFONTE - Each year, the Centre County Association of School Retirees (CCASR) and its state association, The Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR), proudly honor two school district employees - an educator and a support professional - with the Lauretta Woodson Awards.
These awards are rotated among the school districts in Centre County from year to year. The Awards were established by PASR as a result of a bequest by Lauretta Woodson, an educator and ardent supporter of PASR, to honor the selected school employees for their outstanding jobs, their dedication to their students and their exemplary service to their district.
Two Bellefonte employees were selected for the honor this year: Shari Reed, the Elementary Mathematics specialist for the Bellefonte Area School District, and Alice Emery, a support professional.
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Shari Reed, left, and Alice Emerty were recently presented the Lauretta Woodson Awards by the Centre County Association of School Retirees.
Reed began her teaching career in 1993 in an elementary classroom in the Pittsburgh public schools. It was there that Shari had the opportunity to become a math resource teacher and work collaboratively with all levels of educators in the district to improve the instruction of mathematics in the district.
In 2007, Shari became the elementary mathematics specialist for the Bellefonte Area School District while continuing to pursue her own professional development with the Pennsylvania State University.
In her job with Bellefonte, she again had the opportunity to work with all levels of educators on the improvement of mathematics instruction. In addition, she conducted professional development for the BASD Middle School, created additional resources for students struggling with mathematics and organized ongoing parent meetings for K-8 parents, including several family fun math nights across the district.
Reed has been involved at the state level on the Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Advisory Committee, on committees with the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics (PCTM) and as a presenter with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference (NCTM) and as a presenter with PCTM's Annual Conference.
She was promoted to be the BASD K-12 mathematics coordinator effective July 1, 2012.
Reed said she looked forward to the opportunity presented to coordinate mathematics instruction across the district. Her enthusiasm for her work was evident as she briefly talked about the position and her work with the district.
In her three decades of service in education, Emery, a support professional with the Bellefonte Area School District; did recess duty and cafeteria duty; tutored students before, during and after school; and attended the fifth grade camping trip for many years.
She arrived early and stayed late to make sure everything was prepared to her satisfaction.
Recently, Emery's quick action saved a child's life by dislodging a pretzel that obstructed the child's breathing. She also recently received an Employee Recognition Award from BASD.
Her fellow employees said, "she was willing to go above and beyond" and "she was always willing to help." She was referred to as "kind and considerate" with a "cheerful smile and encouraging word for all."
Lew Rodrick, Educational Support shair of the Centre County Association of School Retirees, and Vickie Gates, president, presented the Lauretta Woodson Awards at the May meeting of the Bellefonte Area School District Board of Directors. Each awardee received a medallion, a pin and a certificate from PASR, and a monetary award from CCASR.
