PHOTO: 2021-2022 Richland One Teacher of the Year Sally McCants and Richland One Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon

Classified Employee of the Year Lisa Flores and Richland One Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon

It’s the kind of surprise you just love … where there are lots of smiles and joyful tears.

Richland One Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon and a band of district employees carrying flowers, balloons, plaques and $500 checks visited Rosewood Elementary and Hand Middle schools May 26 to surprise the winners of the district’s highest employee awards.

Rosewood fifth-grade teacher Sally McCants was named Richland One’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year and Hand instructional assistant Lisa Flores was named the district’s 2021-2022 Classified Employee of the Year.

Mrs. McCants, who has taught in the district for 21 years and comes from four generations of Richland One students, says she was inspired to become a teacher by her grandmother.

“My grandmother was a teacher at Dreher. She went to school at Rosewood, right here. This award just means that it has come full circle, that what she put inside of me, I can share with everyone else. I am so excited and honored.”

At Hand, Mrs. Flores does tutoring, translations and anything else that’s needed to assist ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) students and their teachers. She says she goes the extra mile for her students because she’s strongly committed to getting them ready for the future.

“One thing I like about being in ESOL is not only are you doing that — helping them with that transition of having to learn English — but also learning about everything else, too,” she said. “This is a great honor. This is my 26th year in Richland One. They’ve all been great years.

The district extends its congratulations to the winners and to the other outstanding employees who were chosen as finalists for these awards.

• 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year finalists – Vanessa Bankhead, Brennen Elementary School; Laura Haverkamp, Dreher High School; Dr. Melany Rish, Carver-Lyon Elementary School; Sara Suber, Meadowfield Elementary School

• 2021-2022 Classified Employee of the Year finalists – Winnie Brown, Eau Claire High School; Joshua Harper, W.G. Sanders Middle School; Chandra Smith, Satchel Ford Elementary School; Melita Tillman, Heyward Gibbes Middle School