Excellence in education honored at Educator of the Year Awards

The Fresno County Office of Education, in partnership with the Educational Employees Credit Union, hosted the annual Educator of the Year Awards Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 21 at the William Saroyan Theatre. The winners of the School Employee and Teacher categories have the opportunity to apply for the California Department of Education awards in 2015.

The following winners were chosen in each category:

School Employee of the Year
• Selena Rico, Fresno Unified School District – Rico is a Child Welfare and Attendance Specialist in the Department of Prevention and Intervention for Fresno Unified School District. She has been in education for 14 years. “In my job I’m able to express my passion for identifying and helping families who are struggling and disadvantaged,” she said.

Administrator of the Year
• Hank Gutierrez, Fowler Unified School District – Gutierrez is the principal of Fowler High School. He has been in education for 20 years. “I owe everything to the people of Fowler who had a positive influence in my life,” he said. “I will be that positive role model for your child, upholding the rich ethics and values that my mother, family and this community instilled in me.”

Barnett Award
• Aaron Bryan, Riverdale Unified School District – Bryan, who was also a finalist for Teacher of the Year, received this special award recognizing both excellence in education and community service.

Teacher of the Year
• Magdalene Bowman, Washington Unified School District – Bowman is a teacher at West Fresno Elementary School. She has been in education for 20 years. “Teaching is my passion and I think that is reflected in my love for my students,” she said. “In my class, there’s always a buzzing environment of collaborating, moving, learning through fun activities, communicating, laughter, creating and reflective questions.”