A Lakeville Elementary School staff member is a Support Person of the Year finalist. Orange County Public Schools will announce the winner during the OCPS Support Person of the Year Awards Ceremony in February 2017.
Darreyl Williams, 43, a program assistant in his school’s exceptional student education (ESE), is called “The Child Whisperer” by his colleagues, according to an OCPS press release dated Tuesday, October 25.
Williams, an Apopka father of two, is in his 13th year as an OCPS employee. He was previously with Leon County Public Schools for two years.
In his job, Williams works with the estimated 800 students in Lakeville, in which it’s necessary to building compassion and relationships with them, he said.
Early in his career, Williams was employed as a juvenile probation officer with the Department of Juvenile Justice.
In addition to being named his school’s Support Person of the Year, Williams earned the OCPS Stellar Customer Service Award in 2016.
Williams majored in criminal justice at Florida A&M University, but did not complete his studies there. Now, he will pursue his bachelors and masters online at Columbia College. He said Florida A&M University will acknowledge the classes he had taken there for his studies.
Support Person of the Year nominees demonstrate skill and dedication in the performance of their jobs, thereby earning them the respect and admiration of students, teachers, administrators, co-workers, and parents, according to the OCPS press release.
The person chosen as the OCPS Support Person of the Year will be considered for the Florida School-Related Employee of the Year, the state program that honors outstanding support personnel for their contributions to schools and districts.
Get to know more about Darreyl Williams in the Friday, October 28 issue of The Apopka Chief.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter newspapers are independently-owned and family-operated publications committed to generating comprehensive coverage of news and events in the Apopka area.
