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Board honors students, staff and volunteers; VPK class earns top state metric
Summary
Marion County School Board recognized students and staff for national competition placements, a top-performing VPK class at Reddick Collier Elementary, a naming committee for Marion Technical Institute, and staff who performed a lifesaving Heimlich maneuver at Shady Hill Elementary.
At its Sept. 23 meeting the Marion County School Board recognized multiple student and staff accomplishments, ranging from national Career and Technical student placements to a classroom-level early-childhood achievement and a lifesaving response at an elementary school.
Reddick Collier VPK: Nicole Lambert, a VPK teacher at Reddick Collier Elementary, was introduced for leading a Voluntary Pre-K class that staff said earned the highest performance metric among participating public schools across Florida for the 2025 school year. Lambert and paraprofessional Terry Crawford were noted for 21 years of partnership in VPK instruction.
Career and Technical recognitions: The board acknowledged students who competed at national and international levels in FBLA, HOSA and SkillsUSA, listing placements from several high schools and middle schools and noting advisers who accompanied them.
Shady Hill Elementary heroes: The board honored Frances Lopez (first-grade teacher) and Maraca Johnson (health clinic assistant) for a September 12 incident in which staff performed the Heimlich maneuver on a student. The student's mother, Mrs. Rodriguez, read a letter to the board thanking staff for their swift action; she said her daughter is "alive and well today" because of the response.
Marion Technical Institute naming committee: The board recognized members of a naming committee that developed a renaming recommendation for Marion Technical Institute; members were named during the meeting.
Board members and the superintendent took turns thanking staff and students and posed for photographs with those recognized. Several board members described the recognitions as examples of the district's mission-oriented work.
