Rookie of the Year
Teacher retention and recruitment are vital to a quality education system. According to a 2003 study by the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, after just five years, between 40 and 50 percent of all beginning teachers have left the profession. We need to make sure that new teachers receive mentoring, support and recognition during their early years as educators.
Each spring, the Santa Rosa Education Foundation invites every school in the Santa Rosa School District to nominate one teacher for the Rookie of the Year award. Any classroom teacher in his/her third year or less of teaching is eligible for this award. This includes total teaching experience, not just in Santa Rosa public schools. The Santa Rosa Education Foundation’s Rookie of the Year committee reviews all applications and selects one outstanding nominee as the Santa Rosa Rookie of the Year. The Santa Rosa Rookie of the Year receives a Sara Caudell Scholarship from the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce.
Special thanks to our partner
2012 Sponsors
| In Honor of Vivian Burns |
| Claude Duvall |
| Jenny Granse |
| Ed Gray |
| Gulf Power Company, Milton |
| In Honor of Kyle Holley |
| GFWC Milton Woman’s Club |
| Omega Construction and Design |
| Ernie Parker State Farm |
| Santa Rosa Medical Center |
| United Bank |
2012 Rookie of the Year
B.C. Russell Elementary School
2012 Rookie of the Year
2012 Nominees
| School | Teacher |
| Avalon Middle | Josh Pape |
| Bagdad Elementary | Monica Godwin |
| Berryhill Administrative Complex | Pamela Ardoin |
| Berryhill Elementary | Sarah Rhoades |
| Chumuckla Elementary | Gretchen Wiggins |
| S.S. Dixon Intermediate | Brian Simmons |
| S.S. Dixon Primary | Jennifer Warner |
| East Milton Elementary | Amber Hayen |
| Gulf Breeze Elementary | Tonya Hickman |
| Gulf Breeze High | Katharine Edwards |
| Hobbs Middle | Amie Filbert |
| Holley-Navarre Intermediate | Lisa Carothers |
| Holley-Navarre Middle | Laura Steigerwalt |
| Holley-Navarre Primary | Valerie Coleman |
| T.R. Jackson Pre-Kindergarten | Marcia Mayo |
| Jay Elementary | Lindsay Russell |
| Jay High | Nick Gandy |
| King Middle | Brett Shepherd |
| Locklin Technical Center | Catherine Dougherty |
| Milton High | Jeff Dyer |
| Navarre High | Christine Pacholl |
| Oriole Beach Elementary | Whitney Morgan |
| Pace High | Mark Alexander |
| Pea Ridge Elementary | Daryl Freeman |
| W.H. Rhodes Elementary | Heidi Hancock |
| B.C. Russell Elementary | Josh Simmons |
| T.L. Sims Middle | Ashley L. Flowers |
| West Navarre Intermediate | Hannah Vincent |
| West Navarre Primary | Amy Woodcock |
| Woodlawn Beach Middle | Adrianne Zeiger |
