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Aurora principal named top educator

Principal Francisco de los Santos of L.D. Brady Elementary School in Aurora was named Kane County's 2010 Educator of the Year at a ceremony Friday in St. Charles.

The East Aurora District 131 administrator was one of 34 educators nominated for the 35th annual award given out by the Regional Office of Education, which also honors teachers and support staff.

Other winners and their awards were: Marilyn Becker of Gary D. Wright Elementary in Hampshire, Support Staff Award; Gail M. Feltault of the Mid-Valley Special Education Cooperative in St. Charles, R.B. Mades Associate Educator of the Year; Lisa Elizabeth Weimer of Blackberry Creek Elementary in Elburn, Elementary Teacher of the Year; Nancy Garber of Dundee Middle School, J.L Hanson Middle School Educator of the Year; Victor Louis Vant of St. Charles East High School, D.L. Hoeft High School Teacher of the Year; Larry Imel of the Fox Valley Career Center in Maple Park, Administrator of the Year; and Terry Sportsman of Prairie View Grade School in Elgin and Thomas O'Reilly of Sam Rotolo Middle School in Batavia, who each received the Kane County Regional Superintendent Award.

In handing out the honors, Regional Superintendent Douglas Johnson described the winners as "truly exceptional educators" who are "anything but ordinary."

"As is often the case with exceptional people, they don't perceive themselves as exceptional, but rather see themselves as ordinary people just being themselves," he said, assuring those honored: "You are anything but ordinary. You are the best of our best."

Nominations were made by students, teachers, parents, support staff and administrators, who outlined each candidates' contributions to education in Kane County.

In de los Santos' nomination, an assistant superintendent wrote that District 131 is "fortunate to have such a humble and loyal leader.

"His self-motivation and confidence, his background experiences related to school improvement and effective instructional leadership, and his ability to cooperate, communicate and reach out to community members at large certainly qualifies him for this honor," read the nomination, describing de los Santos as a "deserving scholar and educator who will always make a strong contribution to education, as well as the surrounding community."

In the Regional Superintendent Award category, O'Reilly was called a "role model for the entire Rotolo Middle School community.

"He realized the need for a different approach with students who just 'didn't do school,' " a colleague wrote in nominating O'Reilly. "His 'school within a school' has been, for these students, more like a 'home away from home.' "