WORTON — Kent County Middle School is on a hot streak, being able to now boast back-to-back Teachers of the Year.
Each spring Kent County Public Schools honors a Teacher of the Year, Support Employee of the Year and Promising Educator Award winner.
This month, Kent County Middle School teacher Cheryl Fracassi was named the 2025 Kent County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
The ceremony was held April 16 in the Kent County High School auditorium, where all of the school-level award winners were cheered on by their colleagues and family members.
Superintendent Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas joined the celebration led by Director of Human Resources Dan Hushion, with Board of Education members, Director of Teaching and Learning Gina Jachimowicz and retired educator Leon Frison serving as award presenters.
Kaityln Wright, 2024 Teacher of Year and Fracassi’s colleague at Kent County Middle School, gave a keynote address. Chef John Keller and his Kent County High School culinary arts students prepared hors d’oeuvres and refreshments for the ceremony.
Dr. McComas said the event is so special because there is no way to really quantify the hard work that goes into supporting students and teachers every day.
“It is so important that we come together at least once a year to really lift up those who are going above and beyond on a daily basis to support our children and support our colleagues,” Dr. McComas said. “They represent the very best of who we are as an organization and the very best of who we are as a community.”
Along with Fracassi, the Teacher of the Year nominees were Rebeka Wooters, Galena Elementary School; Kathleen Devine, H.H. Garnet Elementary School; Drew Walters, Rock Hall Elementary School; and Johanna Cohen, Kent County High School.
“In the words of her colleagues, Cheryl goes above and beyond for her students, creating a supportive environment that prioritizes their social and emotional learning and academic growth,” Dr. McComas said of Fracassi.
Fracassi began her education career in 2012, joining Kent County Public Schools in 2019 as a teacher in the behavior support classroom.
Based at Kent County Middle School, Fracassi is currently the lead teacher for the Pathways Program, supporting students identified as having significant behavioral challenges in the general education classroom environment.
She is also leading the implementation of Restorative Practices at the middle school, an approach to conflict resolution that focuses on relationship building and social connections.
“Her leadership in Restorative Practices has empowered her students to develop stronger self-regulation skills, fostering a positive and productive learning environment,” McComas said.
During the summer months, Fracassi teaches in the Horizons of Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties program, helping local students maintain and build on the skills they learned during the prior school year. She was the named the program’s site director at Washington College this year.
“I want to thank my husband, who supports me no matter what I do,” Fracassi said after being named the 2025 Teacher of the Year. “He is my rock and my support.”
She also gave a special thank you to her work family at Kent County Middle School, highlighting the important role they play in supporting her and one another.
“I don’t know how I could do it without you,” she told the Kent County Middle School team.
Fracassi joins a cohort of Teachers of the Year from the state’s 23 other school systems in competing to be the 2025 Maryland Teacher of the Year.
The Support Employees of the Year for each building are: Amanda Jackson, Galena Elementary School; Regina Jones, H.H. Garnet Elementary School; Maria Gordillo-Terreros, Rock Hall Elementary School; B.T. King, Kent County Middle School; and Ralph Johnson, Kent County High School.
Johnson, who works with students in the Kent Alternative Program (KAP) at the high school, was named the 2025 Kent County Public Schools Support Employee of the year.
“Being a part of KAP has been a very changing experience,” Johnson said.
He credited Tishara Collins, assistant principal leading KAP, with building what he thinks is the best alternative program in the state. He thanked his family and his work family at KAP for their support.
A teacher showing great potential in the first years of their Kent County Public Schools career is recognized with the annual Promising Educator Award.
There were five nominees for this year’s award: Abigail Saxton, Galena Elementary School; Madison Kendall, H.H. Garnet Elementary School; Breanna Reardon, Rock Hall Elementary School; and Gabriella Crisham and Patrick McColigan, both from Kent County High School.
Kendall, a Kent County High School and Washington College graduate, received the 2025 Promising Educator Award.
“It is very evident that Ms. Kendall loves teaching. Her enthusiasm and excitement are reflected in her students. It is a joy to watch Ms. Kendall teach and interact with her students each and every day,” Hushion read from Kendall’s nomination letter submitted by her principal Brenda Rose.
Kendall thanked her family and boyfriend for supporting her, including helping her prepare for lessons by doing things like cutting out 500 flashcards; her teacher-mentor Mary Brown; and Rose.
In her keynote address, Wright, the 2024 Teacher of the Year and a finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year, celebrated all of the honorees at this year’s school system awards ceremony for their dedication to students. She noted how this year’s recipients spoke about their work families.
“Each of you is a part of what makes this family strong,” Wright said. “I am so grateful knowing that you have dedicated yourselves to helping build such a loving village for our students.”
Hushion thanked the sponsors of this year’s awards: Hertrich of Elkton, which provides a vehicle to the Teacher of the Year; JBK Hardware; the Inn at Huntingfield Creek; Java Rock; Sweet Cheeks; Wildly Native Flower Farm; Spa Angels; Red Acres Hydroponics; Modern Stone Age Kitchen; Haven Harbor Marina Resorts; Harbor Shack; Church Hill Theatre; Evergrain Bread Co.; the Chester River Packet; Chesapeake Bank and Trust; Talkie Communications; Eve’s Cheese; and the Kent County government.
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