Leander High School senior Lidia Kivil, recognizing Kasandra Diomande: “Mrs. Diomande is always there for myself and her other students. She is willing to stay after school with me to help me out after class; she is willing to listen to my personal problems, or about my life, while also telling me a little bit about herself; and she is very gracious about helping me to do makeup work. Mrs. Diomande is very patient, and it means a lot that she tries to understand my personal life and how it affects my school work or my ability to do school work.”
New Hope High School's Blake Miller, recognizing Jennifer Burgess: “When I think of Jennifer Burgess, the obvious titles come to mind: Teacher, Mentor, Counselor, etc. There is but concealed beneath the insinuation of a job description someone that at heart actually cares for not only her Students, but their Instruction as a whole. The dissimilarity of the two are separate but equal to endorse. When I first transferred to New Hope I was taking Statistics and was told there was an online version a part of the Edgenuity platform. Spoiler alert, there was nothing of the sort. This left Ms. Burgess and I with no textbook, little framework or documentation to progress from. She took the prospect in stride to work with what we had and presented both of us with new learning challenges. Maggie Gallagher once said, “Of all the hard jobs around, one of the hardest is being a good teacher.” Jennifer Burgess is not only measured as a good teacher but a respectable practitioner who through life has encouraged others to excel in both their education and forthcoming development.”
