TAMPA, FL (WFLA) — During an emotional ceremony, three outstanding educators and support staff were honored as winners of the Excellence in Education Awards. The winners were chosen out of 699 total nominees.
Special Education teacher at Plant High School, Mary Beth Radigan, has been named 2016 Teacher of the Year.
Mary Beth Radigan has been teaching for 29 years, nine of those years in Hillsborough County. When asked why she has been teaching special education for 29 years, she replies, “The population of students I am able to work with accept people unconditionally. This lesson takes most people, and cultures, a lifetime to achieve. I’m grateful for having these students to help me understand this phenomenon.”
Radigan has helped introduce several programs to Plant High School including Pawbucks Coffee Shop, Paw Prints Cheerleading, Organic and Hydroponic Gardening and Unified Special Olympics.
Named 2016 Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year is Angela McKinnon, a Guidance Counselor at Young Middle Magnet School, and named 2016 Instructional Support Employee of the Year is Wayne Moore, a School Resource Officer at Just Elementary School.
The Hillsborough Education Foundation along with Hillsborough County Public Schools presented the awards Wednesday night during an event at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
