DeKalb County High School announced their Student, Parent, and Teacher of the Month, for the month of March, last Tuesday, April 15, with each award winner receiving a certificate and a coupon for a meal at El Rancho Mexican Restaurant.

The “Student of the Month” award was presented to or 18-year-old Katya Hennessee, daughter of Brad and Renee Hennessee.  She and her siblings, 17-year-old Valya and 14-year-old Pasha, are natives of Ukraine, and were adopted by the Hennessee’s.

“We went through an organization called Bridges of Faith and they bring over Ukrainian kids to America to be with families here. It’s hard to comprehend sometimes because I have been here for almost nine years, but I still remember most things because I was the oldest kid in the family. It was like, wow I came from something and look at it now,” Katya said.

Katya said that she was surprised she had been named for the award. “I’m very honored and thankful,” said Hennessee.

Katya is a member of FFA, and was a Tiger football manager for three years. She said she is interested in agriculture because of her grandfather has about 250 head of cattle. After graduation, she said she plans to attend the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in McMinnville for cosmetology.

The March “Parents of the Month” award went to Tiffany and Abel Cota after their 9th grade son, Christopher Gallegos, wrote a winning essay about his mom and dad. 

“My mom and dad are the best support I have had my whole entire life. I just wanted to show them a little appreciation and how much I love them,” Christopher said.

“We are very proud of Christopher,” said Tiffany. “He has come a long way. When he was born, he had a fractured skull and needed two pints of blood so we think of him as a miracle child because he was a very sick baby. We are very honored to have him recognize us for this.”

Tiffany said her husband works for Meadows Homes and she is a stay-at-home mom. In addition to Christopher the Cota’s have a daughter, Jasmine Gallegos.

Christopher said he is a member of the FBLA and Spanish Clubs, and that math is his favorite subject. He said he plans to pursue a career either in the automotive industry or in construction.

The March Teacher of the Month award was presented to physical science teacher Kevin Burchfield.

Burchfield, a 29-year teacher, announced his retirement at the close of the school year next month. He began teaching in 1992 as a biology instructor, but later took a few years off before making his return to the classroom in 1998.

“Education changes about every four or five years, but it’s been fun and I really have enjoyed teaching here, and being with the people. My students make me feel old because I had some of their fathers and mothers in my class at one time. I’m teaching the second generation,” Burchfield said.

He explained that his wife, Penny, works at Shiroki, and they are the parents of two children, Erin Payne and Wesley Burchfield. They have one granddaughter, Sarah.

When asked what he plans to do after retiring, Burchfield said, “I have enough stuff around the house to do to last me a year, but after taking a year off I might come back as a substitute teacher.”