Annual Employee/Partner recognition event is Dec.1

Fulton County School System’s top employees and outstanding business partners will be honored at a “Heroes”-themed recognition gala on Friday, December 1.

More than 1,000 Fulton County School System employees, outstanding business partners, and special guests will pay tribute to each school’s Teacher of the Year and School Professional of the Year, as well as the system’s Support Professionals of the Year and Partners of the Year.

The program begins promptly at 11:30 a.m. at the Cobb Galleria Centre, located at Cobb Parkway and the I-285/I-75 interchange. Former Kennesaw State University President Betty Siegel is the keynote speaker.

Andy Ross, executive director of the Fulton Education Foundation, says that the goal of the annual event is to create a production that entertains each guest and shows the honorees how much they are appreciated. The Fulton Education Foundation is a non-profit organization that sponsors grants for teachers, as well as other fund-raising opportunities for the school system. The Foundation co-sponsors the gala with the Fulton County School System.

Nathifa Williams Carmichael from North Springs High School is Fulton County’s Overall Teacher of the Year. First named the system’s High School Teacher of the Year, she was then selected as the district winner from among two other Fulton County finalists: Karen Jones from Hembree Springs Elementary, who is the system’s Elementary School Teacher of the Year, and Deborah Polk from Taylor Road Middle, who is the Middle School Teacher of the Year.

Suresh Srinivasan from Barnwell Elementary School will be recognized as the Overall School Professional of the Year and Michael Graham from the Fulton County Schools Warehouse will be honored as the Overall Support Professional of the Year. More than 150 Teachers of the Year and School/Support Professionals of the Year will be recognized. Click here for school-by-school names.

Six businesses that have made significant contributions to schools will be recognized with a “Prestigious Partnership Award.” Ford Motor Company also will receive the “Platinum Partner Award.”

· Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary School and The Rialto Center for the Arts
· Independence High School and Roswell Presbyterian Church
· Mimosa Elementary School and Colonial Properties
· Parklane Elementary School and Hands On Atlanta
· State Bridge Crossing Elementary School and Starbucks
· Harriet Tubman Elementary School and the Lakeshore High School Alumni Association
· Ford Motor Company – Platinum Partner Award

The Atlanta Coca-Cola Bottling Company is the Platinum sponsor, and Dell Computers, Northside Hospital, Publix Super Markets, Washington Mutual, and Parsons are Gold sponsors. Silver sponsors include AGL Resources, BellSouth, Fulton Teachers’ Credit Union, Georgia Power Company, Johnson Controls, and Promethean. Bronze-level sponsors are Brock, Clay & Calhoun PC, Gude Management Group, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Layer3 Communications, MARTA and VALIC.

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About the Fulton County School System. The Fulton County School System is the fourth largest school system in Georgia. More than 83,000 students attend 90 schools in the cities of Alpharetta, College Park, East Point, Fairburn, Hapeville, Mountain Park, Palmetto, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Union City. The district also serves students in unincorporated Fulton County.