Employee Recognition Banquet Held May 7

Teachers, staff members honored, District teachers of the year named

Pflugerville ISD honored campus teachers of the year, humanitarians of the year, and district support staff of the year, and named its elementary and secondary district teachers of the year at the District’s annual Employee Recognition Banquet May 7.

“Pflugerville is filled with dedicated educators who possess an unmatched work ethic,” Superintendent of Schools Charles Dupre said. “We are proud to honor these valued employees, who exemplify all our hard-working staff across the District, and recognize their commitment to preparing students for the future.”

Dessau Elementary math intervention teacher Cindy Ward was named District Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Park Crest science teacher Rob Quarles was named District Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Ward has been with Pflugerville since 2005, when she joined the Dessau Elementary staff as a math intervention teacher. She serves as a math vertical team chair, took part in the math textbook adoption committee and has a master math teacher certification.

Dessau Elementary principal Denise Monzingo knows Ward is an invaluable member of the school’s staff, and cites her willingness to do whatever it takes to motivate students as one of her best assets.

“She always gives up her personal time to help just one more student and spends hours and hours dissecting information to find the missing link with students. She is amazing!”

Ward attributes her “whatever it takes” attitude towards teaching to a special teacher in her life, Ed Monson. Monson inspired Ward when she was his student, and continues to provide her with encouragement now, as her father-in-law.

“Every day I try to contribute to the lives of my students by believing in them and taking a personal interest in their journey to be a successful citizen,” Ward said. “I am blessed to have my personal role model, Ed Monson, so accessible to me. His insight, experience and encouragement help me to strive to be the caliber of teacher he exemplified.”

Quarles has been a teacher at Park Crest since 2002, when he came to the District from Austin. He serves as science department chair, and is a member of Park Crest’s campus academic advisory council. Quarles holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Arlington.

 With an engineer father, Quarles was exposed to science from an early age, and his interest in the subject developed naturally. Education was also a key element in Quarles’s childhood, and he considers many of his teachers to be great role models.

“I try to emphasize the value of education to my students, because it was such a strong theme for me as I was growing up,” Quarles said. “By involving my students in my activities at the Environmental Science Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, I hope to model lifelong learning to them.”

Quarles’s principal, Steve Fuller, considers Quarles as a standout teacher for many reasons. 

“Rob is an excellent teacher not only because of his competence in science, for which he is well-respected in many circles, but also because he sets an example for his colleagues and supervisors alike by the way he relates to his students,” Fuller said. “He believes that if you put students first, everything else will take care of itself. Rob goes out of his way to serve our school and the community, and that inspires us all to be better.”

Campus teachers of the year and humanitarians of the year were selected at the campus level by their peers. In order to be eligible for campus teacher of the year, a teacher must have completed two full years as a classroom teacher, and meet rigorous teaching standards, set by the District.

The humanitarian of the year awards recognize staff members who represent their campus in a positive manner through interactions with parents, students and other district employees.

Campuses across the District nominated district support staff winners, awards which recognize bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, grounds people, maintenance workers and support staff employees.

The banquet and the teacher of the year awards were generously sponsored by the Pflugerville Education Foundation. Each campus teacher of the year received $100 from the Foundation, and the district teachers of the year received an additional $500.

Ward and Quarles also received a laptop computer, provided by Braun and Butler Construction, and a PISD teacher of the year ring, from Central Texas Herff Jones.

Each humanitarian of the year and district support staff of the year received $100, due to generous donations from John Ryan of Horace Mann Insurance, Petermann Bus Company, ARAMARK and Wilshire Homes.

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