Fort Thomas Schools Staff and Faculty Earn Global Leader Awards

Amy Shaffer (l) of the Fort Thomas Education Foundation congratulates Highlands staff member Nancy Gesenhues and Guy Ponzer on their Global Leader awards.

By Robin Gee

Five people in the Fort Thomas Independent Schools District were honored at the September school board meeting with Global Leader Awards.

The awards
honor those whose contributions to Fort Thomas schools and community
exemplify the qualities identified in the Portrait of a Graduate
initiative. The winners’ contributions touch on one or several of the core
competencies/roles identified in the program: Global Communicator, Empathetic Collaborator, Curious Critical Thinker, Creative Problem Solver and Courageous Leader.

Nancy Gesenhues and Guy Ponzer collaborate for schools’ success

The Fort Thomas Education Foundation, represented by Executive Director Amy Shaffer and Chair Liz Younger,
nominated two people as Empathetic Collaborators for their hard work
helping to ensure Foundation events go smoothly, even in the midst of
building moves and other challenges. The Foundation honored Highlands
High School Cafeteria Manager Nancy Gesenhues and Custodian Guy Ponzer.

Barre3 Ft. Thomas, located at 90 Alexandria Pike.

“Over
the years, Nancy and Guy and their teams have gone above and beyond to
make sure the Foundation club experience in the high school cafeteria is
perfect for our 70-plus family members each year. Not only is the place
squeaky clean, but the supplies we need are always available and
organized. Nancy is always willing to collaborate with us on menus,
ordering and other logistics to make sure we offer a quality menu on a
managed budget. Guy and his team make sure the space is clean before and
after the event doing double work on home football game nights,” said
Shaffer.

She pointed out that this partnership and
collaboration was essential during the recent school moves, and in
preparing for the opening of school. “It was crucial to ensure we could
host our first event of the year without disruption…We can say with
certainty that the success of the FTF club would not be near what it is
without the collaboration and teamwork of Nancy and Guy and their teams.
They should take personal pride, not only in this award but in the fact
that they helped raise over $50,000 annually for our schools and
students so we can continue our tradition of excellence.”

Ryan Augustin brings together the community to honor those we’ve lost

Highlands Middle School teacher Amy Fry (l) nominated her colleague Ryan Augustin (r) for a Global Leader award.

Teacher Ryan Augustin was nominated for a Global Leader award by his colleague Amy Fry for the care he took in supporting an event to honor two beloved Fort Thomas students whom the school lost.

Fry
explained, “I nominated Ryan for this award. He’s been the HMS student
council sponsor for the past three years… most recently, it was his
endeavor regarding the Fly Free Dance and Cheer Competition that stood
out to me and stood out to the community. The goal of the event was
simple, but it was important. It was to honor and remember our two
amazing students that we’ve lost, Michelle Chalk and Lilliana Schalck.
Under Ryan’s direction, the council planned this event from start to
finish. Hours upon hours of time and energy were spent to prepare for
the event. Ryan was there every step of the way.”

Phone: 859-905-0714 – Email: josh@joshmcintoshlaw.com. This is an advertisement.

Not
only did the event help raise funds for a Memorial Garden, but it also
brought the Fort Thomas community closer together, Fry said.

Joy Layman sets young students on the right path

A Fort Thomas parent nominated Woodfill teacher Joy Layman for a Global Leader award for her care in teaching the youngest students.

Woodfill Kindergarten teacher Joy Layman
also was honored as a Courageous Leader. A parent (who remained
anonymous) wrote, “When I look at the word courageous it says ‘not
deterred by danger or pain, brave.’ I believe it takes a brave person to
educate kindergartners. I don’t think, necessarily, that kindergartners
are dangerous or painful, but more because they are the smallest and
most needy of our students. When you think about a kindergartner it is
important to remember they are five or six years old. They need a lot of
direction and assistance just to stay safe while learning. Joy Layman
lives this definition out daily. She works alongside our students to
make sure they get the direction and attention they need to grow.”

Her
nominator also said they believe it is the great start students receive
with Layman that instills a love of school and learning. She works
closely to involve families and give them opportunities to be a part of
their child’s classroom experience. “Thank you, Joy, for being a leader
and making school a place where my kids love to go,” the parent said.

Nina Kearns models Portrait of a Graduate as an educator and as a parent

AP Psychology teacher and Fort Thomas mom Nina Kearns (middle) was nominated for a Global Leader award by teachers Allyson Jones (l) and Tina Reynolds (r).

AP Psychology teacher Nina Kearns rounded out the group of Global Leader Award honorees. Two Woodfill teachers, Tina Reynolds and Allyson Jones,
honored Kearns as both a teacher and a parent. Reynolds said she read
through the list of traits of a Global Leader and found the Kearns
exemplifies three roles, as Courageous Leader, Creative Problem Solver
and as Empathetic Collaborator.

“The first is
Courageous Leader… [Kearns] was a Portrait of a Graduate leader before
a Portrait of a Graduate was a thing. My daughter was in her class
eight years ago. She was in multiple AP courses, several advanced
classes, early bird, and she was way beyond stressed, but she’d come
home talking about her education class with Nina. She would say things
like ‘I go into her room and I just feel like me’ ‘I can be myself, I
can express myself, but I’m more challenged in that class than I am in
my AP classes or my early bird, because Mrs. Kearns just expects that of
me.'”

Reynolds’ daughter is now a teacher and says
she still uses strategies she learned in Kearns’ class. Reynolds also
said, as a mom, she felt Kearns was an Empathetic Collaborator. Kearns
coached her daughter while she was on the school’s soccer team.

“It
wasn’t like there was a coach and there was a team, they were
altogether. She was one of them, they were her,” Reynolds explained.
“They were a very competitive championship team that year, but it was
because the girls loved her and they looked up to her.”

Lastly,
Reynolds spoke of Kearns’ own role as a mother whose children are
Woodfill students. She stands out as a Creative Problem Solver. “I had
the pleasure of teaching her three children, and this is probably one of
the toughest hardcore moms there is, but her kids get it. She would
never make excuses for them. If they forgot their iPad, they dealt with
forgetting their iPad…but I knew they were going home and having those
table discussions.”

Kearns would let her children
come up with their own solutions to problems, and with that Reynolds
felt Kearns was collaborating with her. “Nina is just a Portrait of a
Graduate for all of us,” Reynolds said.

Anyone in the community can nominate any other community member for a Global Leader Award. Honorees are honored with a plaque from the Fort Thomas Independent Schools Board.