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March Board of Education Recognitions

The Kannapolis Board of Education was proud to honor outstanding representatives from around the district at its March meeting.

Fred L. Wilson Elementary School

Grace Lynn Brooks – Grace is a Fifth Grade student at Fred L Wilson with Mrs. Beam and Miss Nawrocki. Grace is the epitome of a model student demonstrating intelligence and resilience.  Grace is the daughter of proud parents, Benjamin and Stephanie Brooks, and she embodies what we should all strive to be: kind and humble.  She certainly leads by example.

One Fred L Wilson teacher, Nicole Morgan, shared “Grace is a self-motivated, respectful, and inquisitive learner. She works well in any setting and sets goals for herself and meets them!”  Another teacher on staff commented, “Grace can always be seen with a smile on her face. She is a trustworthy student that teachers can send on errands or know they can rely on to help support other students. Grace loves to come to school and show what she knows!”

Dylan Jeremias Sanchez – Dylan is an outstanding Kindergarten student at Fred L. Wilson with Mrs. Melanie Litten and Mrs. Grace Saunders. He is the son of proud parents, Maribel Flamenco and Yeny Flamenco.  

One Fred L Wilson staff member, Mrs. Shaughnessy stated, “Dylan is kind to everyone he meets.  He comes to school with a positive attitude every day and he never meets a stranger.”  Dylan really is a student like no other.  He is a role model for all students and quickly establishes relationships with everyone that he meets as his personality is as infectious as his smile.  He welcomes everyone to be his friend.  He is always the first to greet you with a friendly fist bump, wave, or smile. He is a person of great character and exemplifies what it means to be a FLW student!”

Azucena Bernal – Azucena Bernal has been an outstanding parent volunteer at Fred L. Wilson for four years.  Her daughter, Alexa has attended Fred L Wilson since Kindergarten and is in Ms. Morgan’s Third Grade classroom.  Her son, Max, has attended Fred L Wilson since Kindergarten and is now in Ms. Champion’s First Grade classroom. 

Azucena exemplifies what it means to have a servant's heart. She is kind, humble, and selfless. She is always thinking of others and ways that she can support students, classroom teachers, and the Kannapolis community. Over the years, Azucena has supported teachers by volunteering her time to prepare classroom materials and other clerical tasks.  She is recognized by almost all students as she faithfully volunteers her time in the cafeteria to serve as a monitor during teachers’ duty-free lunch days throughout the 2022-2023 school year. Sña Bernal has even donated delicious items for a dessert bar for teacher luncheons.

Sña Bernal currently serves as an active member of the relaunched Fred L Wilson Parent Teacher Organization [PTA]. She is always stepping up to help Fred L Wilson students and staff, and they are grateful for her ongoing support.

Aicha Conde – Aicha Conde has been an outstanding substitute at Fred L. Wilson and in Kannapolis City Schools since 2023.  Aicha is a recent business major graduate who is exploring a new career in education.  She decided to confirm her interest by substitute teaching to see if going back to school is really what she wants to do.

Aicha is one of the most competent and energetic substitute teachers Fred L Wilson has worked with. It is rare to find a temporary employee as committed to improvement as Aicha.  She has dedicated herself to helping each of our Fred L Foxes and she is not even a licensed teacher yet.  Even though Aicha works another full-time position, she is dedicated to serving our students each day.  One of her many strengths is her initiative.  She is kind, patient, dedicated, and reliable which are only a few of her greatest qualities. Here’s to hoping that you decide to become an educator - you would be great.

DeNora Spriggs – DeNora Spriggs has been the face of Fred L Wilson for many years.   As the Fred L Wison receptionist, DeNora is often the first person or voice that all community members see and hear.   She is an exceptional representative of our Fred L Wilson family as she is genuine, honest, and highly professional.

In addition to her office support duties, Ms. Spriggs begins her day super early as she is one of the main facilitators for the Fred L Wilson Before School Care Program.  As the coordinator, she is the first to arrive at school each day during the early dawn hours and is ready to greet our 40-60 participating students and their parents as they arrive at 7 a.m.

Her willingness to go the extra mile for our students and community was evident when Denora was made aware of a student that had a broken bike, and she, along with the custodian, bought a new bike for this student.  In addition to supporting students, Denora uses her amazing relationship-building skills to secure numerous donations for the Fred L Wilson staff, often securing gift cards and other donations that will benefit teachers. 

Denora is an invaluable link between school and home, and she works tirelessly to ensure that students and their families are connected to needed information.  Denora is an integral part of the support team.  She approaches all situations with confidentiality, care, and compassion, which helps foster excellent rapport with students and staff.

Nancy Ward and Silva Antunez – There is no group of people that work harder than these two ladies.  Their warm bright smiles greet students on buses in the morning and their kind farewells send students home in the late afternoon. Collectively, what is most special about these two ladies is their dedication to excellence far exceeds all others.  

Miss Nancy has a genuine fondness for each of her bus riders.  She joins them in celebrating their positive bus behaviors and is known to recognize students on an ongoing basis with special announcements before she leaves campus.  She also rewards students for their behavior by distributing candy to her bus riders. Our Fred L Wilson students LOVE their bus driver, Miss Nancy, and they show that with the loving gifts that they bestow on her and the low count of bus referrals from Bus 436.  

Sña Silvia Antunez is equally fond of her young bus riders.  Students are most impressed with Sña Antunez because she is bilingual and they can all practice their Spanish-speaking skills with her.  It really means a lot to students and parents to be able to communicate with various KCS staff in their heritage language.  In addition to driving both a.m. and p.m. bus routes, Sña Silvia is also seen each day in the Fred L Wilson cafeteria where she works in between her bus routes.  Our Fred L Wilson students are so lucky that they also have this informal opportunity to chat with and be supported by Miss Silvia each day. 

Pablo Santos – Pablo Santos is a Fourth Grade teacher at Fred L Wilson from Chiriquí, Panama. Pablo began working at Fred L Wilson in 2021.  He was actually supposed to begin working in 2020 but was delayed due to the worldwide pandemic.  The Fred L Wilson community waited patiently for a year and was rewarded with a vibrant, caring, and dedicated professional. He is serving as the Spanish Language Immersion teacher at Fred L Wilson and is a leader among the Dual Language team, ensuring the sustainment of Fred L Wilson’s language immersion programming.  Señor Santos is a very active member of the School Improvement School Culture and Moral Committee.  He has been instrumental in bringing novel ideas to the school community to spread joy.  Everyone loves his cheerful birthday banner, karaoke playlist, and infectious smile.  Did you know Sñr Santos is trilingual?  He learned Arabic while teaching in Saudia Arabia for some time.   

Fred L Wilson staff member, Taylor Harrington, says “Mr. Santos works tirelessly to teach his students in ways that are fun, engaging, and rigorous! His students adore him and the creativity in the classroom is like none other!”  Amid all of the rigorous educational demands, Pablo has managed to intentionally have fun.  He recently turned his classroom into a cafe serving up a delicious selection of books for his students to taste and sample.  Students were incredibly motivated to read.  He creates magic for all and is a photographer in his spare time.  He is helpful, hardworking, dedicated, and a role model for all educators!

The Board was also pleased to recognize the Hilbish Ford Teacher of the Month, Brent Messenger, band director from A.L. Brown High School.

Brent Messenger is strong advocate for KCS and for our students. Parents praise his efforts and encouragement in helping students grow as musicians.  His support of students, both in and out of the classroom, is evident daily.  Families noted that his passion for teaching and love for his students truly impacts them, and that Mr. Messenger is a positive influence in their lives.  They have seen students grow both in confidence and in self-esteem through his guidance and direction.

We’re extremely proud that Brent Messenger is a part of our KCS family, starting from his time as a student, to serving with the A. L. Brown band program during his years at Catawba, and returning to become such a valued member of the A. L. Brown staff.  We are delighted to present you with the Hilbish Ford Teacher of the Month for March.  Congratulations, Brent!

A. L. Brown High School Cheerleaders – Kannapolis City Schools and A. L. Brown High School is extremely proud to once again be celebrating a truly special group of young people.  With only 2 seniors and 13 new faces, this talented cheer team of 20 members came together in February to not only defend their title but to come away with a 5th straight State Coed Cheerleading Championship.

This squad has 3 All-American cheerleaders, won top camp honors at the Clemson Camp in July, and was recognized with the prestigious Program Tradition Award for continued excellence in spirit and character while spreading positivity.

These Wonders represent the K with pride, integrity, and a sense of family!  The 2022-2023 State Coed Cheerleading Champions are:

  • Skye Dotseth

  • Madalyn Edwards

  • Zakhia Edwards

  • Angel Esquivel Hernandez

  • Tia Griggs

  • Zaire Harris Grier

  • Anyziah Harris

  • Cruz Hernandez Solano

  • Alice Hernandez Varela

  • Lexia Honeycutt

  • Ne’Vaeh Kimble

  • Dallas Mann

  • Darria McGuine

  • Krystal McKiver

  • Kairah-Shea Merrington

  • Molly Morton

  • Ian Pfannes

  • Tanaisa Rorie

  • Ashlee Ruben

  • Camden Stegall

  • Abigail Tinsley

The squad is coached by Abby Boushee and Jim Busse.

Congratulations to these state champions!  Thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm as you represent KCS with continued excellence and drive.  Go Wonders!!