A pair of Osceola School District employees who are also products of that system have been named its annual employees of the year.
Taylor Kuwik, a first-grade teacher at St. Cloud Elementary School, was named Teacher of the Year out of a list of nominees from each county public school and a group of 10 finalists.
Cody Workman, St. Cloud High School’s security monitor, was named the School-Related Employee of the Year.
They receive a $500 gift card, a new cell phone and an assortment of local theme park tickets, and their likenesses will adorn an entrance at the School District administration offices. Kuwik received a crystal trophy and Workman a ring as mementos. Each of the other finalists receive a $100 gift card, a crystal apple and a new tablet.
Kuwik said she was caught completely off guard.
“I don’t feel like I deserve this award, but I will wholeheartedly uphold this honor,” she told the gathering of hundreds from the podium. In an interview later in the night, she said it “still doesn’t feel real.”
“I didn’t feel like it was going to be me — 10 percent chance, right? — so I was in shock. I looked at my principal and she yelled.”
Workman said it was an honor he wasn’t expecting.
“There were a lot of great candidates — one is retiring,” he said. “As I was watching their videos I’m like, ‘These are great employees, and I drive around on a golf cart.’”
They are now in the running for the Florida Department of Education’s 2023 Teacher of the Year and School-Related Employee of the year judging. Three finalists will named later this spring.
“The School Board members and I know very well that we will only reach our ambitious goals of preparing every student for college, career and community success through the best work of our employees,” School District Superintendent Dr. Debra Pace said at Thursday’s gala event.
Teacher of the Year’s first pupils? Stuffed animals
Kuwik, 28, was once a student like those she teaches. She is a Harmony High grad and also went to Reedy Creek Elementary, Valencia College and UCF for her teaching degree, and came right back home to intern here.
“I decided this is where I wanted to be, because I wanted to make a difference where I live,” said Kuwik, who has taught first grade all six years of her career at St. Cloud Elementary.
She said she knew she wanted to teach from a young age, pretending to teach to her stuffed animals with old books schools let her keep.
“It had to do with having so many amazing teachers in my life that I wanted to be just like. We moved a lot, but school and my teachers were always a constant for me,” she said. “That’s why I know it was hard for the kids during the pandemic, taking that constant away for a while.”
So what keeps Kuwik coming back each day, each school year?
“It’s the kids. I know it sounds cliché, but building relationships with them is what keeps me going. I did have a challenging class my first year, but I built such deep relationships with them that when those kids moved on they continued to come visit my room to give them a place to be when their lives were a little more chaotic, and see those faces around town, it shows how fulfilling this job can be and the lives you touch. Few careers can give you that gratification.”
She said she was welcomed as an intern at St. Cloud Elementary “with open arms.”
“My co-workers work very well together, that camaraderie alone makes me feel supported, loved and cared for every day I come in.”
Through the District, Pace called Kuwik “a model teacher and instructional leader.
“Ms. Kuwik’s experience and accomplishments continue to motivate both students and staff towards higher achievement.,” Pace said. “She expertly communicates high expectations for all, and creates a learning environment where students are cared for, welcomed, and encouraged.”
St. Cloud High safety monitor’s work “never ending”
Workman, 32, is also a nearly-life-long county resident and Harmony High grad (“Dr. Pace was my first principal”).
He’s spent four years working for the district, after 12 years in the Florida National Guard and deployed to Africa and Iraq. When he returned stateside, some of his assignments including running hurricane shelters during evacuations — including being assigned to the Florida Panhandle after Hurricane Michael in 2018, his first week working at St. Cloud High.
“I worked a lot of hard, manual-labor jobs, and I realized I wasn’t getting younger, and I wanted a change of pace,” he said. “And I really enjoy it, enjoy being able to bring the school and its students and staff the feeling of being safe.
He called his work of keeping a campus of some 3,000 students and faculty “never-ending.”
“With what goes on in the modern day I take it very seriously, things worry me,” Workman said. “I’d like to project past my school and to the county and state representative to increase security. I have ideas, unfortunately they can cost money.”
He said he loves coming to work to St. Cloud High each day.
“Everybody we work with is awesome. Every time I ask for something, or if I need time off if any of my kids (ages 9, 8, 6) are sick, they work with me.”
