CAMARILLO : Teacher, Librarian Named District’s Best

A teacher known for her extraordinary patience with children and a librarian who nurtures a love of books in kindergartners have been named employees of the year in the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District.

Holly Koch, who teaches sixth-grade English at Los Primeros Structured School, has been named best teacher of the year and Karyne Roweton, a librarian at Las Colinas School, has been honored as best non-teaching employee.

The school board recognized the two in addition to 14 finalists in the two contests at a meeting this week.

Los Primeros Principal Jim Williams said Koch is known throughout the district as an excellent teacher.

“It’s just her patience with kids,” he said. “She just knows how to motivate and how to keep kids feeling good about themselves. She practically guarantees kids success.”

And Las Colinas Assistant Principal Aileen Buhring pointed out that Roweton is the sole librarian at the 1,100-student school, the largest in the district.

“We feel that’s quite a feat on its own,” Buhring said.

Roweton is known for taking special care with younger students, Buhring said.

“She spends a lot of time selecting just the right books for kindergartners so their introduction to the library will be enjoyable,” she said.

Both winners were selected by committees of their peers: Koch by a group of district teachers and Roweton by other classified employees.

While all the finalists in the contests receive gift certificates to dozens of Camarillo businesses, the two top winners also have their names engraved on a plaque at the district office.