Atlanta, GA - Two Georgia public-school employees have been named the winners of the first-ever Georgia RISE Award, which honors classified school employees, Governor Brian P. Kemp announced today.
Mr. Harold Quarterman, the Lead Custodian at Montgomery County Middle/High School, and Officer Lee Peck, the School Safety/Resource Officer at North Columbia Elementary School, are the 2020-21 winners of the Georgia RISE Award and will be submitted as Georgia’s nominees for the national RISE Award.
“There are many unsung heroes in Georgia’s K-12 schools, making sure everything runs smoothly so our children can receive an excellent education,” said Governor Kemp. “Harold Quarterman and Lee Peck are two of those heroes. I was incredibly impressed with their credentials, the extra weight of service they have taken on during our fight against COVID-19, and – most of all – their care for students. I am honored to award the first Georgia RISE Award to these two outstanding individuals.”
“Harold Quarterman and Lee Peck represent the best of the best of Georgia’s public schools,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods. “I don’t think any Georgian could read about the contributions they’ve made to students – particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic – without being moved to gratitude. As a teacher and principal, I saw firsthand how classified employees keep Georgia’s schools moving forward, and I’m thrilled to see them gaining this recognition at the state and national level.”
For the first time in spring 2021, the U.S. Department of Education will award the Recognizing Inspirational School Employees (RISE) Award to a full- or part-time classified school employee who provides exemplary service to students in pre-kindergarten through high school.
The governor of each state was invited to nominate up to two classified school employees. Georgia ran a state-level process, the Georgia RISE Award, to select its nominees.
As winners of the state-level award, Mr. Quarterman and Officer Peck will have been nominated for the national award and will be recognized at the Georgia Teacher of the Year awards banquet in 2021.
All schools and districts were invited to submit a nominee for the Georgia RISE Award. Nomination forms were reviewed by a panel of judges composed of representatives from the Georgia Department of Education, the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and numerous advocacy groups. The highest-scoring applications were presented to Governor Kemp, who made the final selection of two nominees.
Employees in the following job categories are eligible for consideration for the Georgia RISE Award. These categories are set in statute for the national award: paraprofessional, clerical and administrative services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance services, health and student services, technical services, and skilled trades.