The best of the best in Canyons District will be honored in a way befitting the era of COVID-19. 

An upcoming virtual ceremony will be broadcast on the Canyons District YouTube channel to recognize the winners of the 2020 Apex Awards, the highest awards given by the Canyons Board of Education and Administration. The virtual event will be shown after the Thanksgiving Recess. 

“The Canyons District Apex Awards were created to recognize exemplary and extraordinary service to students, parents and employees,” said Board President Nancy Tingey.

The dedication and professionalism of this year’s winners certainly merit such recognition, Tingey said. 

In any other year, winners are feted at a by-invitation-only banquet and ceremony hosted by the members of the Board and the Superintendent. As this is a year unlike any other as a result of the pandemic, CSD is forgoing a glitzy gathering to announce this year’s winners.

Winners of the categories, who were nominated by peers and the public, will receive a gift box filled with a lead crystal award, certificates for dinner at a local restaurant, and other prizes and gifts. The awards note the hard work and commitment of the corps of educators, Education Support Professionals, volunteers, community partners, and public-education advocates selected for this year’s honors.

This year’s honorees include a principal who faced a fiery challenge with a trademark calm, one of Canyons’ founding top administrators, the team of education technology specialists who spearheaded CSD’s rapid pivot to online learning during last spring’s “soft closure” of Utah schools, volunteers who are advocates for their diverse communities, a school nurse who has been at forefront of CSD’s battle against COVID-19, and CSD’s longest-tenured superintendent, among others. 

The 2020 Apex Award winners are: 

• School Administrator of the Year — Kelly Tauteoli, Union Middle Principal
• District Administrator of the Year — Dr. Bob Dowdle, Assistant Superintendent, and Susan Edwards, Public Engagement Coordinator
• Teacher of the Year — Emma Moss, Eastmont Middle teacher
• Business Partner of the Year —  Utah Food Bank
• Volunteer of the Year — Midvale-area volunteers Araceli Rivera and Stacey Kratz
• Elected Official of the Year — Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy
• Student Support Services Professional of the Year — Canyons Head Nurse Sally Goodger and the Instructional Supports Department’s Education Technology Team
• Education Support Professional of the Year —  Custodial Coordinator Kevin Kelson
• Legacy Award — Dr. Jim Briscoe, CSD Superintendent, 2014-2020