BISD announces valedictorian, salutatorian and honors students, teachers of the month
Jaylen Harper was announced as the 2022 Breckenridge High School Valedictorian and Liberty Vandergriff was announced as the Salutatorian at the Breckenridge Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening, May 10.
BHS 2022 Salutatorian Liberty Vandergriff and Valedictorian Jaylen Harper were congratulated by BISD Superintendent Bryan Allen at Tuesday night’s school board meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
The two friends have only a .004 (four one-thousandths) of a point difference between their GPAs. Harper has a 4.340, and Vandergriff has a 4.336.
In making the announcement, BISD Superintendent Bryan Allen said, “These two individuals are very special to me and my family because when we moved here in 2020, my daughter was a sophomore, going into her junior year, and both of these kids welcomed her with open arms and embraced her and have been a good friend to her the last two years. So these two kids are special to me. And I don’t know that I’ve seen a val and sal race as close as this one was in all my time in education. I’ve seen some knock-down drag-outs, and usually when they’re close, they are not friendly to each other, but these two are about inseparable.”
The school board meeting also included the Students of the Month and the Teachers of the Month, as well as the Teachers of the Year. (Some who were honored were initially announced at the April meeting but were unable to attend.)
May Students of the Month:
- East Elementary — Milly Cate McClymond, second grade
- South Elementary — Peyton Davila, fifth grade
- Breckenridge Junior High — Emma Walker, eighth grade
- Breckenridge High School — Chloe Whitmire. 12th grade
April Students of the Month:
- East Elementary — James Kropelnicki, Pre-K
- South Elementary — Emma Condor, fourth grade
- Breckenridge Junior High — Lesavier Gutierrez, seventh grade
- Breckenridge High School — Austin Hill, 12th grade
During Tuesday’s meeting, Allen recognized the March and April Teachers of the Month. Then, he announced that they were also the Elementary and Secondary Teachers of the Year for BISD. Stephanie Skiles, a sixth grade math teacher, is the March Teacher of the Month and the Secondary Teacher of the Year. Halee Mitchel, a kindergarten teacher, is the April Teacher of the Month and the Elementary Teacher of the Year.
As Teachers of the Year for BISD, Skiles and Mitchell will be in a competition for the Regional Teacher of the Year awards in each category. The winners from Region 14 will then be considered for the State Teacher of the Year recognitions.
BISD Superintendent Bryan Allen announced at Tuesday’s meeting that Halee Mitchell, left, is the April Teacher of the Month and the Elementary Teacher of the Year, and Stephanie Skiles, right, is the March Teacher of the Month and the Secondary Teacher of the Year. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
Milly Cate McClymond was presented with the May Student of the Month award by East Elementary Assistant Principal Shannon Deen and Milly Cate’s teacher, Sonia Saucedo. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Peyton Davila was honored as the May Student of the Month by South Elementary Principal Kenna Rainey and Peyton’s reading teacher, Julia White. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Emma Walker was presented with the May Student of the Month award by Breckenridge Junior High Principal Laura Gibson. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
Chloe Whitmire was honored as the May Student of the Month by BHS softball coach Anthony Kelly. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
James Kropelnicki was honored as the April Student of the Month by his East Elementary Pre-K teacher Jeni Sullivan. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
Emma Condor was presented with the April Student of the Month award by South Elementary Principal Kenna Rainey. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)
Lesavier Gutierrez was honored as the April Student of the Month for Breckenridge Junior High, but he couldn’t attend the meeting. (Courtesy photo)
Austin Hill was honored as the April Student of the Month by Breckenridge High School teacher Calvin Best. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
Cutline, top photo: Breckenridge High School seniors Jaylen Harper and Liberty Vandergriff were named the 2022 Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively, at the May 10 BISD school board meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)
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