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Plush began as a high school house principal and then moved into an assistant principal role at the middle school level before assuming the principal job at Willoughby Middle School in 2021. He began his educational career as a language arts teacher at Willoughby South High School.

Among many accomplishments while principal at Willoughby Middle School, Plush and his team earned the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce 2023 Momentum Award in recognition of significant improvement in growth and achievement on the Ohio School Report Cards. 

Plush earned his undergraduate degree in education from Dayton University and was awarded a master’s degree in educational administration from Cleveland State University.   

Plush expressed his gratitude and excitement about his new role at Monday’s Board meeting: “I am truly thrilled and grateful to be able to serve this diverse and supportive community,” he said. “I am committed to serving the city of Lakewood by being highly visible, putting relationships first, building an outstanding school culture, and always placing student learning at the forefront of what we do. We will take care of students every single day at Harding Middle School.”

 

BARB FOX

Roosevelt Elementary lunch monitor Barb Fox understands that lunchtime is a unique part of a student’s school day and that it never unfolds the same from day to day. To help manage the controlled chaos while still allowing the students to let their hair down a bit, Barb employs many of the Vision of a Lakewood Educator competencies, leaning heavily on communication, collaboration and empathy.

Barb’s nominator, Roosevelt Principal Allison Aber, says Barb uses her excellent communication skills to help set the tone and expectations for students. 

“Barb provides clear and concise instructions to students about lunchtime procedures, expectations, and any special activities. She actively listens to students' concerns or issues and addresses them appropriately,” Allison says.

Barb, who has worked at Roosevelt since 2009 and lives in the neighborhood, shows her empathy with students who just want to enjoy a break in the school day with their friends. 

“I understand this is their unstructured time and they want to have a little leeway,” says Barb, who expertly juggles giving them that leash but with a firm, consistent, yet nurturing approach. According to Allison, Barb helps create a “supportive and inclusive environment where students feel comfortable and valued.”

Beyond the students, Barb is a great collaborator with her colleagues as she works daily with classroom teachers to address any specific concerns or to provide support for students' needs, according to Allison. Barb also volunteered to be the substitute for secretary Mary Lou Nagy on days Mary Lou is out. Barb also will stay after her lunch shift to help out with the school’s house system activities.

Barb, whose stepdaughter and daughter both attended Roosevelt and whose granddaughter is there now, is all about supporting the Roosevelt community, because it’s her home.

 

KAYLEIGH SYKORA

When the District created the new elementary Library - Information & Digital Literacy teacher positions for this year, Kayleigh Sykora knew it would be the perfect job for her.

“Books and technology are my love languages, they are my jam,” says Kayleigh, who teaches at Hayes and Horace Mann.. “This was an opportunity to take all the things I love and make it a dream job.”

Since it is the first year of the library class, of course Kayleigh had to draw on the Vision of a Lakewood Educator competency of collaboration to get things off the ground and running. She and the District’s three other library and digital literacy teachers spent 75 hours together over the summer developing the curriculum and continue to meet monthly to touch base about the course.

Kayleigh has paid particular attention to her group of CHAMPS special education students at Horace Mann as many of them did not know how to use a library when the school year started. Kayleigh ensured that there were books available that were accessible for those students such as books with textures to touch and audiobook activities.

Growth mindset is a must for Kayleigh in her new role. She knows that technology and the internet is constantly changing and that she needs to keep abreast of emerging technologies such as AI. She takes her position of teaching students how to be safe on the internet very seriously. “It’s important to be aware and alert of what’s coming our way,” Kayleigh says.

Kayleigh’s nominator, Horace Mann Principal Sanya Henley, is glad Kayleigh is on the job “Kayleigh is a caring, thoughtful and hard-working teacher with the best interest of all of the kids. I am so grateful to have her at Horace Mann.”