Bellbrook student, teacher both win national recognition
Bellbrook senior to head to D.C. for Senate program.
Bellbrook-Sugarcreek schools had a student and a teacher win back-to-back honors from two national organizations this winter.
Bellbrook High School senior Joey Derrico was one of only two Ohio students selected for the weeklong United States Senate Youth Program, to be held in Washington, D.C. in March.
And Bell Creek Intermediate physical education teacher Sasha Taylor was named the Midwest teacher of the year by the national Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE).
Students in the Senate Youth Program study the U.S. government, hearing policy addresses by senators and cabinet members, and participating in meetings with the president and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Derrico already serves on the Teen Ambassador Board for Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and volunteers for the Greene County Democratic Party and the gubernatorial campaign of Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
The son of Cathy and Tony Derrico, Joey is president of Bellbrook High School’s Key Club and is also involved with the YMCA’s Youth in Government and Junior Leadership Dayton programs.
Student delegates to the Senate Youth Program also receive a $10,000 college scholarship, with encouragement to pursue coursework in history and political science. Derrico intends to major in political science and public policy.
Taylor was named one of six regional teachers of the year in the elementary physical education category by SHAPE, which offers national standards for K-12 physical education. Those six will be interviewed this month, and one will be named national teacher of the year at SHAPE’s convention in March.
Taylor was previously named state teacher of the year by the Ohio Association of Health, PE, Recreation and Dance, making her a candidate for the SHAPE Midwest Teacher of the Year award.
Over the past 22 years at Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools, Taylor has taught physical education to students from kindergarten through high school. She has been a teacher at Bell Creek Intermediate, serving grades 3-5, for the past 10 years and said she especially enjoys teaching students in those grades.