Celebrating our Faculty and Staff

Retirees

The 2024-2025 school year marked the end of the careers in education for 12 of our dedicated staff. At the end-of-year awards, we celebrated the retirees for their years of service to students in GISD and other districts across the state. Together, they have dedicated 239 years to GISD and 302 total years in public education.

Retirees were presented with a Citizen Watch.

David Wisian - 50 years in law enforcement (20 in GISD)

Lawanna Wisian - 45 years in law enforcement (22 years in GISD)

Traci Skinner - 25 years (25 in GISD)

Sharlene Bryan - 20 years (20 in GISD)

Kelli Bond - 34 years (25 in GISD)

Nina Coody - 25 years (16 in GISD)

Retirees that were unable to attend and are not pictured:

Kelly Searcy - 37 years (37 in GISD)

Nancy Davidson - 37 years (29 in GISD)

April Waggoner - 35 years (23 in GISD)

Doug Schindler - 21 years (1 in GISD)

Twyla Molsbee - 13 years (13 in GISD)

Rosemarie Demars - 13 years (8 in GISD)

Congratulations on your retirement!

Campus Teachers of the Year

Throughout the year, we have celebrated many teachers who excel in the classroom. Every month, a teacher from each campus was named teacher of the month and also nominated for District Teacher of the Month. From those nominations, one elementary and one secondary teacher were selected for District recognition. All teachers who were nominated, whether they received district recognition or not, were then eligible to be named Campus Teacher of the Year by their peers. In April, we surprised the winning teachers with a visit to their campuses, so that the students could join in on the celebration.

At the end-of-year celebration, the teachers of the year were invited to the stage to receive their plaque and to be celebrated by the entire staff at GISD. Congratulations once again to Anathalie Monteagudo (Edison), Emily Gonzalez (Chalmers), Sarah Welch (Intermediate), Diana De Santiago (Junior High), Shartel Casimiro (High School).

District Employees of the Year

Throughout the year, we celebrated many employees who go above-and-beyond for their campus and our students. The term employee in this sense refers to any GISD staff member who is not a classroom teacher. All employees who were nominated by their campus Principal throughout the year were eligible and in April, all campus staff were asked to vote for their respective campus employee of the year.

At the end-of-year celebration, the employees of the year were invited to the stage to receive their plaque and to be celebrated by the entire staff at GISD. Congratulations once again to Erika Ochoa (Edison), Vanessa Moreno (Chalmers), Kamye Pemberton (GIS), Ciera Mansker (GJH), and Miranda Zimmerer (GHS).

District Elementary Teacher of the Year - Anathalie Monteagudo

Mrs. Monteagudo is a first grade dual language teacher. Earlier this year, there was a vacancy on the Spanish side of the dual language program. Seeing the need, she obtained her bilingual certification so that she could step into that class mid year and fill the vacancy. Anathalie is always willing to help in any way, and is highly respected by her peers and campus administration. Her students love being in her class because she is diligent about building a positive relationship with them all. She is a tremendous asset to the Edison campus and to GISD.

District Secondary Teacher of the Year- Shartel Casimiro

Mrs. Casimiro teaches freshman biology at GHS. She is in her second year of teaching at GHS, but has brought extensive experience with her from Belize. She started out as a Chemistry teacher and asked to take on EOC-tested Biology this year. She understands the difficulty second language learners have (she is one herself) so she focuses on a solid vocabulary foundation first. She taps into the visual learning style that most of her students prefer in order to deepen their understanding. Shartel’s outgoing personality is a magnet to her students and she leverages strong relational bonds with her students to get the most out of them.

Rookie of the Year - William Benson

He is in his first year teaching and is currently teaching sophomore Political Science. From instructional planning to delivery, he has attributes of an experienced teacher and his students have noticed. In Ms. Oliva's Principles of Education class, they had a project in which they made a poster of a model teacher and listed Benson’s attributes. The full-size likeness of Mr. Benson that now hangs outside Ms. Oliva's classroom is labeled calm, knowledgeable, caring, understanding and confident. The staff have also noticed Mr. Benson’s abilities. They often give unsolicited feedback letting administrators know how well he is doing and how much they want him to be recognized as a top level teacher. William has the presence and demeanor of someone that would make an excellent administrator or another leadership position later in his career.

Employee of the Year - Kamye Pemberton

Kamye is the PEIMS Secretary at Gainesville Intermediate. By title, this role means she maintains student records and proper coding. However, as you know, in the front office of a school this also means assisting with attendance, registration, being a nurse, hall monitor, safety police, IT specialist, counselor, the list goes on.

Mrs. Pemberton is always happy, willing to help, and has a calm demeanor. Although faced with hardships making it a very difficult year, Kamye has remained steadfast in her commitment to Gainesville Intermediate. She is a joy to work with and will do anything to help our staff, students, and parents. Kamye works hard daily to ensure that the building needs are met and that teachers are happy.

Congratulations Kamye and thank you for all that you do for GISD.

Years of Service

At the end-of-year celebration, we honored employees who have reached a milestone in years of service at GISD. Thank you all for your continued dedication!

25 years of service

Traci Skinner, Melissa Henderson, Deborah Erb, Kelli Bond

20 years of service

William Hendricks, Sharlene Bryan, Tracy Henry, Jill Linnell, Juana Martin, David Wisian

15 years of service

Lindsay Dodson, Julie Lang, Nicole Rich, Keli Royal

10 years of service

Amy Bland, Windy Fulmer, Konner Ward, Israel Garcia, Victoria Jekel, Edwina Barnes, Kristal Young; not pictured: Bonnie Cox, Amy Thompson

5 years of service

Maria Nieto, Ciera Mansker, Kennon Olison, Jessica Roberson, Madelyn Bean, Ashley Vela, Sandra Wood, Sanjuana Martinez, Marisela Martinez, Nicole Ochoa Martinez, Diana De Santiago, Tara Crockett, Nancy Bullard, Hector Sagrero, BJ Banks; not pictured: Dulce Arreguin, Randi Cori, Scott Hedges, Ashley McCorkle

Gainesville ISD Education Foundation Presentation

During Teacher Appreciation Week, the Gainesville ISD Education Foundation invited parents and community members to nominate their favorite teachers and share what makes them truly special. The three teachers who received the most nominations were Amy Franklin, Andrea Mendez, and Holly Tatum. These three educators will be receiving $250 to use towards their classroom needs for the 2025–2026 school year.