Coach Perkins Named SCPS 2011 School-Related Employee of the Year!

_{Left to Right: Superintendent Dr. Bill Vogel, School Board Chairman Dede Schaffner, School Board Member Dr. Tina Calderone, Crooms AOIT Principal Dr. Connie Collins, SCPS District Employee of the Year Nathaniel Perkins, School Board Member Karen Almond and School Board Member Sylvia Pond.}
 
In a celebration held at Lyman High on May 3, Nathaniel Perkins was named the 2011 School-Related Employee of the Year for Seminole County Public Schools. A security guard at Crooms Academy of Information Technology in Sanford, Florida, Mr. Perkins has worked in the district for 29 years, the past 10 at Crooms AOIT. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Bill Vogel, "opened the envelope" and made the surprise announcement of the winner's name during the program.

Dr. Connie Collins, Principal of Crooms, shared a myriad of responsibilities and skills possessed by this honoree, who has worked at Crooms since its inception in 2001. "He has...skills to coach our athletic teams and to coach individual students. [As an award-winning track and field coach, Nate Perkins has become affectionately known as 'Coach' Perkins.] He can be found working with our most at-risk students building confidence and self-reliance both on the field and off. Our top academic performers also gravitate toward Coach Perkins' nod of approval. Two years ago, when our valedictorian was being honored at a local breakfast, and was given the opportunity to invite a parent to attend with him, it was Coach Perkins who attended as a surrogate to provide support and nurturing. Coach knows everybody in the community, and their parents, and grandparents...and they know him. His involvement with students, parents, and community has all but negated any responsibilities relating to violence or disruption."

Nathaniel Perkins became the man he is today from a challenging start in life. Principal Collins shared: "He has said that he remembers his own childhood, and wants to provide opportunities that were not there for him. That's the thing about Nate, he never forgot what it meant to be a child from an impoverished background, a single parent home, a place with few opportunities. He remembers that someone reached out a hand to him and he keeps reaching his hand out to others."

Seminole County Public Schools congratulates Nathaniel Perkins on being named the 2011 School-Related Employee of the Year. The other two finalists were Debbi Pegel, a secretary at Stenstrom Elementary and Debra Skipper, a paraprofessional instructional assistant at Eastbrook Elementary. The event honored 67 employees selected by their schools/sites.