Dedrick Buckles
The school celebrated faculty of the year, highlighting six extraordinary staff members on Dec. 11, one of them being Dedrick Buckels, who won the Assistant Principal of the Year Award. Since the school’s opening in 2020, Buckels has been an administrator for, primarily helping the social studies department and working in the House of Service.
A major part of Buckel’s job is to see how he can help students learn more and grow.
“We try to figure out what is the best way to support students in their growth, and sometimes students may push back and we don’t see the growth that we see that they have the potential of doing. It becomes frustrating, so one of the things that we do is just continue to try to push, and support students, no matter where they are, Buckels said.
In ambition Buckels always tries to help and support the teachers and always have their back.
Buckles has been very inspired by his mother throughout his life and gives her credit for what he has accomplished today, and appreciates all the sacrifices she made for him to get him where he is now.
“[Me] and all of my brothers, three of us have masters and one went straight to the workforce. But no matter what we chose to do she supported us and pushed us through,” Buckels said. “And just to see her wake up every day, support us, to make sure that we have a quality life and make sure that we’re able to play the sports that we need to play.”
For Mr. Buckels, he wants to create an environment where every student is learning and every teacher is getting the resources they need to make their teaching possible. Because he knows that he can give all the teachers the resources they need he is making an impact on not just the teachers but the students to be helping give them the best learning environment possible.
“[It’s important] that I’m able to get in the classrooms, I’m able to talk to students, I’m able to support my teachers, provide them with the things that they need, so that they can support you all because they’re in the trenches on a day to day basis,” Buckels said. “And my biggest role is to support those who teach. And so, and so that is probably my biggest joy, is making sure that I make sure that whether it’s a drink, whether it’s, instructional resources, whatever it might be, my goal is to make sure that my teachers are happy, because if they’re happy, then it’s going to have the trickle down effect to be able to impact you all in a positive way.”
Antony Park
Engineering teacher Antony Park has won Teacher of the Year Award for the second year in a row. Each year, staff gets voted upon by faculty through two rounds of selection, solidifying a campus wide acknowledgement for Park’s contributions to the community.
But Park first had to learn how to get there.
“When I first started out as a teacher, a lot of focus was on my individual classroom and my students [who] were right in front of me,” Park said. “But as my roles kind of expanded on the campus across the district, I have learned that my role goes beyond my own classroom. I have a level of influence and impact across different classes, across different departments and communities within the campus. And so it’s expanded to touch more communities.”
As Park grew as a teacher, he learnt from the teachers, team leads, and department chairs around him, contributing to where he is today.
“I think there’s a lot of people that I could mention right now as far as people who have influenced me and supported me throughout the years to kind of get me to this point,” Park said. “Namely, though, I would say that my current assistant principal, Sharon Kelly, has played a great role in mentoring me over the last few years and guiding me in terms of getting me to where I am currently.”
This will be Park’s fourth year at Rock Hill, and he has developed an efficient niche to improve teaching strategies.
“I think one of the main things [I do] is support the admin team and support all the teachers on the campus with data analysis and conversations centered around data in terms of their instructional strategies,” Park said. “Beyond that, I want to continue to expand my role within the district, within the school, to make sure I’m supporting as many people as possible.”
But as department chair and many roles across the school community, Park faces challenges keeping up with all of it.
“I think one of the obstacles that many teachers have faced, and myself included, in this past year has come down to time management and making sure I’m able to balance all the different roles I have,” Park said.”I’ve sort of lowered in terms of what I’ve been involved with, and other things I’ve prioritized, so [I’ve been] making a priority of what I need to be focusing my time on.”
To Park, a successful classroom is dependent on flexibility, which means it changes with each and every student.
“It contains a lot of room for the students to learn in their own way, and that gives them an opportunity to kind of explore and engage with the learning and understanding in a variety of ways,” Park said. “Beyond just an individual path and individual mindset within it. A successful classroom looks like it’s led by the students.”
Julius Booth
Julius Booth was named Professional Support Employee of the Year, recognized for his contributions to the community through his support and daily operations. The professional support employee award is given annually to staff members that have shown brilliance in their field.
Upon receiving this award, Booth hadn’t been expecting it, or even aiming for it. Instead, he chooses to simply live by his personal motto: don’t chase, attract.
“I’m a believer of don’t chase the titles, they will be given to you just by doing the job,” Booth said. “My mantra is just come to school, make sure to do my job to the fullest and support students.”
As a counselor, Booth often finds himself in positions of negativity.
“I’m often in a thankless position,” Booth said. “Most of the time, most of the interactions that I get are negative, but who goes to the doctor when they feel good? I get to see people afterwards, and when people graduate and come back and like, hey, these are the things I achieve.”
However, this award reinforces that Booth is moving in the right direction.
“Sometimes you can get lost in the weeds of negativity and problem-solving and not feel like you are providing solutions and being successful,” Booth said. “So this award kind of reinforces that I’m doing good.”
Booth feels as though he could not have done it without his Rock Hill community.
“A plant only grows as big as the environment,” Booth said. “So [at] other places I was in a small pot and when I got to Rock Hill, it was planted in nice nature and so on. So now I can grow as big as a tree if I wanted to.”
Lacheryl White
Lacheryl White recently got Paraprofessional of the Year and was recognized for her work. White is the head secretary for both Sharon Kelly and Julius Booth in the House of Empathy. White had started her career when another colleague she used to work with recommended the position. Throughout her career when anyone comes out of the door in the office White is always there to help whether it’s a staff member or student.
“Being in the hallways and having a student yell my name across the hall is so cool, because, out of everybody that you walk by all day, I think it’s something special.” White said. “Or even if a kid comes in and says, hey, I got a recruitment letter today they don’t have to share that information with you, but the fact that they do, it kind of warms my heart.”
Karina Anderson
Spanish teacher Karina Anderson never planned to begin a new career in her forties, yet her impact in the classroom has earned her The Rising Star of the Year award, given to exemplary new teachers.
Receiving the award was a surprise to her.
“[Miss Cindy] said, ‘they’re watching you’,” Anderson said. “Whether you feel it or not, people are watching, right? You feel more accountable, but at the same time, more motivated to continue on with the work that you’re doing because you can see that it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Prior to pursuing education, Anderson was a global product manager for a multinational company, before becoming a stay at home mom.
“I never thought that I would be starting a career in education when I’m almost 50 years old,” Anderson said. “So it was definitely all by the grace of God. No doubt about it, to God. It’s by the grace of God that I am here.”
As a stay at home mom, Anderson started substituting in classrooms, and soon realized that her genuine care for students was the key to having successful students.
“One student, [when I was] a long term sub, said, ‘no one has ever cared for me to learn like you do’,” Anderson said. “That broke my heart. And at the same time, it made me feel that I could make a difference in the life of a student.”
Becoming a teacher brought a lifestyle different from what Anderson was used to, but she believes the change was for the better.
“My job totally changed my life,” Anderson said. “Now, my husband now does a lot of the cooking and things like that. My evenings and Saturdays go a lot with planning lessons and grading.”
Creating these lesson plans has helped Anderson figure out how she can best reach her students, with lighthearted and relevant instruction.
“At the beginning of the year, many students may have apathy towards the subject, since it’s not a core subject,” Anderson said. “But as the time goes by, having diverse activities and trying to engage with the students, I’ve seen that apathy going away, and they started to be more and more engaged.”
Anderson enjoys uplifting students outside of the classroom as well, as she often attends student performances and games.
“Now I feel that I have tons of sons and daughters because I go to a lot of different activities and games and I cheer for them.” Anderson said.
