Rymfire's Donelle Evensen and Matanzas's Eugenia Moore Win District's Top Honors for 2019

Eugenia Moore as she was named the Flagler County school district's Employee of the Year Thursday evening. (Flagler Schools) — Eugenia Moore as she was named the Flagler County school district’s Employee of the Year Thursday evening. (Flagler Schools)

Donelle Evensen a literacy coach Rymfire Elementary School, is the 2019 Flagler County Teacher of the year, and Eugenia Moore, the guidance clerk at Matanzas High School, is the support employee of the year. The awards were announced during the annual celebration of employees at the Flagler Auditorium Thursday evening.

The two winners will now represent Flagler County Schools in statewide competitions in the coming months.

“It makes me feel like I may have accomplished what I’ve set out to do,” Evensen said on being named Teacher of the Year, “and that’s increase student achievement and increase support for our teachers and make them feel like they’re valued and are appreciated for what they do every day.“

Donell Evensen, the Teacher of the Year, acknowledged by the five Flagler County School Board members and the audience at the Flagler Auditorium. Click on the image for larger view. (Flagler Schools)

Evensen is a graduate of Flagler Palm Coast High School. She attended the University of Central Florida, majoring in Exceptional Student Education. She returned to Flagler Schools following her graduation from UCF in 2006 and began teaching at Rymfire that fall.

She obtained her Masters degree in Elementary Reading and Literacy from Walden University in 2008. In 2017, she earned a Masters certification in Educational Leadership from Stetson University. Donnelle Evensen has been married for 16 years and she and her husband have four children.

Moore is also the testing and exceptional student education secretary at Matanzas. She’s been working with Flagler Schools since 2004. The award, she said, came as a shock to her.

“Both my children are products of Flagler Schools,” Moore said. “They’ve both been told they can do whatever they want and they have always had the support of their teachers. I am so proud of Matanzas and to be a part of the Flagler Schools family.”

Moore attended Mitchell College and St. Johns University before moving to Flagler County in 2002. Moore has two children. Her son Jadakiss graduated from Matanzas last year and is a student at Daytona State College. Her daughter Janay is a sophomore at Matanzas. On top of that, Ms. Moore has been a Girl Scout Troop leader for the past eight years.

“Both Donell and Eugenia are shining examples of what it means to be a significant adult,” Superintendent James Tager said. “They came to Flagler Schools in different ways, but after getting to know the two of them, it is easy to see why they were named our Teacher and Support Employee of the Year. They will represent Flagler Schools well this upcoming year.”

Here are each school’s teacher and service employee of the year, in that order, along with each division’s service nominee:

Bunnell Elementary School: Sara Smith and Rebecca Cox
Belle Terre Elementary School: Janine Kerry and Gillian Browne
Buddy Taylor Middle School: Jacquelyn Malloy and Faye Dolce
Flagler Palm Coast High School: Dave Halliday and Nichole Cox
Flagler Technical Institute: Travis Thomas and Susan McManus
Indian Trails Middle School: Katie Hoover and Gillan Ceballos
Matanzas HIgh School: Jan Lemus and Eugenia Moore
Old Kings Elementary School: Liz Cabral and Kellie Sisco
Rymfire Elementary School: Donelle Evensen and Penny Grebe
Wadsworth Elementary School: Joanna Hughes and Koeuy Sonn
Custodial Services: Maria Prazeres
Food Services: Jackie Collins
Government Services Building: Nicole Deschaine
Plant Services: Laura Cappello
Technology: Tom Martin
Transportation: Jeff Karl

Earlier, Paul Peacock of Indian Trails was named the District Principal of the Year, and Cara Cronk of Buddy Taylor Middle School was named the District Assistant Principal of the Year.