“Educators of the Year” from twenty-three public school districts in Hamilton County will be recognized and honored at the 6th Annual “Celebrate Excellence” breakfast on Friday, May 25, at the Sharonville Convention Center. The event is presented by the Hamilton County Education Foundation (HCEF), which provides annual scholarships to two K-12 educators who are pursuing their Masters Degree in Special Education. Krista Ramsey, a columnist with the Cincinnati Enquirer and member of their Editorial Board, will present the keynote address. Bengals legend, Pro Football Hall of Fame member and youth advocate Anthony Munoz serves as emcee for the sixth consecutive year. “Celebrate Excellence” is open to the public; tickets are $50.
For information about table sponsorships, donations, and individual tickets, contact HCEF president Karen Muse at karen.muse@hcesc.org, 513-674-4224, or visit www.hcef.us.
HCEF was established as a non-profit arm of the Hamilton County Educational Service Center (HCESC) in 2006. The HCEF Scholarship Program helps to address the growing national shortage of Special Education teachers and related service personnel. This factor, as well as the fact that HCESC is one of the largest employers of Special Education personnel in Southwest Ohio, drove the decision to provide scholarships for K-12 teachers. “Celebrate Excellence,” the Foundation’s signature fundraising event, supports the scholarship program through sponsorships and donations. The inaugural scholarship was presented in 2008 in partnership with the University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice and Health Services. U.C. has since awarded four scholarships to K-12 educators employed by a public school district in Hamilton County who are pursuing a Masters Degree in a Special Education related field. Xavier University College of Social Sciences, Health and Education became the second partner and has since awarded two scholarships to their graduate program.
Each scholarship award is equal to one semester of tuition. This year’s keynote speaker Krista Ramsey is a columnist and editorial board member at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Her areas of special interest are education, families, health, religion, and women and children’s issues. A former high school teacher, Krista covered education for the Enquirer for a decade and wrote a weekly education column. “The goals I try never to lose sight of are treating the people and topics I cover with dignity and respect, while inviting Enquirer readers to think about the world in a more humane way.”
“Krista is highly admired for her candid and thoughtful commentaries on youth, educationand families,” comments Muse. “We are thrilled she will address our “Celebrate Excellence” audience this year, and know she will equally inspire, motivate and praise our honorees.”
Each “educator of the year” is selected by their own public school district. In past years, those honored have represented a wide variety of certified education professionals who touch students in unique and significant ways – from administrators and counselors to school nurses and band directors, as well as classroom teachers. This year, the participating public school districts are Cincinnati Public, Deer Park, Finneytown, Forest Hills, Great Oaks, HCESC, Indian Hill, Lockland, Loveland, Mason, Mt. Healthy, North College Hill, Northwest, Norwood, Oak Hills, Princeton, Reading, Southwest, St. Bernard-Elmwood, Sycamore, Three Rivers, Winton Woods and Wyoming.
The educator of the year from the Oak Hills Local School District is Brooks Klosterman, social studies teacher at Bridgetown Middle School.
Learn more about HCEF and the Scholarship Program by visiting the website, where a video is also posted about the “Celebrate Excellence” event.
About Hamilton County ESC
Founded as an Educational Service Center nearly a century ago, Hamilton County ESC’s heritage has been providing quality services in the areas of special education and professional development, to the public school districts in the vicinity. Today, HCESC is leading innovation
by bringing together educational best practices and leading-edge knowledge, to serve more than 150,000 students and 10,000 educators in southwest Ohio. With a staff of 500+ professionals, HCESC’s expertise extends beyond education, with quality services for a variety of community service organizations. To learn more, please visit www.hcesc.org.
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