Dominion Custodian Selected as the January Year of the Educator Winner

On Friday, Jan. 13, at Dominion High School, Dr. Daniel Smith, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) acting superintendent, Dr. John Brewer, Dominion High principal, Kari Murphy, director of development for Loudoun Education Foundation (LEF), and a crew of staff and students assembled in the cafeteria to celebrate Blanca Reyes, a custodian at Dominion, who was randomly selected as the January Year of the Educator prize winner.

To start the celebration, Brewer called for everyone’s attention, saying that they were gathered together for “something worth celebrating – for someone we want to honor.”

Smith, who followed Brewer’s introduction, called Reyes forward and explained that “this year is the year of the educator. It is a way for us to say thank you for all you do every day that allows our students to learn.”

Smith and Murphy presented Reyes with this month’s prize – an iPad and gift cards to several streaming services. Murphy said she hopes the prize allows Reyes to “kick back and enjoy.”

Round Hill Elementary’s parent-teacher organizaiton (PTO) donated this month’s prize to LEF. Letty Kayser, LEF Office Manager, said that the Round Hill principal and PTO members “love this program. We want to thank them for paying it forward.”

As staff members congratulated Reyes on her prize, she quietly and happily accepted the hugs and cheers. Brewer said that Reyes is a very hard-working and dedicated staff member. He also said he was pleased to take a few minutes to celebrate her and to have the Dominion community participate. “All of us at Dominion share in the task of educating our students, and everyone deserves to be celebrated,” he said.

Started in September 2022, the Year of the Educator is a joint LCPS and LEF initiative that surprises randomly selected school staff with a prize worth more than $500. Year of the Educator prizes will be presented to a randomly selected LCPS teacher or staff member each month during the 2022-23 school year.

Published January 17, 2023