2026 Ritenour School District Honors Dinner

When:  Thursday, April 23, 2026
Time:  Appetizers 6-6:30 p.m.
            Dinner 6:30 p.m.
            Recognition Ceremony to Follow
Where:  Ritenour Auditorium (9100 St. Charles Rock Road)

RSVP:  https://tinyurl.com/RSD-Honors-Dinner-26
Online Payment

Dinner Includes the Simple Elegance Buffet*:

• Sicilian Roast Beef (Top round of beef carved and served with a jus and horseradish mousse)
• Italian Chicken Spedini (Boneless chicken breast, Italian breaded, baked and topped with a garlic, lemon and butter sauce and offered with a fresh tomato, basil and garlic salsa on the side)
• Cavatelli Broccoli (Shell pasta with broccoli in a parmesan sauce)
• Potatoes Siciliano (Potatoes thinly sliced with the jackets left on, baked in rows in a butter herb sauce)
• Farm House Green Beans (with smoked bacon and sautéed onions)

*If you have special dietary needs, please contact Margarita Kramer-Gunther at guntherm@ritenourschools.org or call (314) 493-6080

Please R.S.V.P. by completing this form by Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

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Ritenour is proud to honor Monica Amos, an eight grade math teacher at Hoech Middle School, as the 2026 Diamond Circle Teacher of the Year. Dr. Denizela Dorsey, a school social worker at Husky Academy and Ritenour High School, is the 2026 Diamond Circle Employee of the Year. 

Abbie Harcourt, a Special School District teacher at Hoech Middle School, is the Make A Difference Award honoree. Lauren Marino, a Ritenour Middle School music teacher is this year’s First-Class Teacher for being an outstanding educator who is new to the profession. 

2026 Diamond Circle Teachers: 

• Ritenour School for Early Childhood - Michelle Smith, early childhood teacher
• Buder Elementary - Mary Sutherland, third grade teacher
• Iveland Elementary - Hannah Meyer, kindergarten teacher
• Kratz Elementary - Mary Khankeo, English learner teacher
• Marion Elementary - Danielle Elliott, second grade teacher
• Marvin Elementary- Amanda Gaston, interventionist
• Wyland Elementary - Stacey Bray, interventionist
• Hoech Middle School - Monica Amos, eighth grade math teacher
• Ritenour Middle School - Lisa Watkins, reading specialist 
• Ritenour High School -  Denise Schindler, family and consumer science teacher

25-Year Employees:

• LaTasha Brown, Marvin Elementary
• Debbie Dennis, Ritenour Middle School
• Jamie Eagle, Hoech Middle School
• Kim Hegger, Marvin Elementary
• Maya Lane, School for Early Childhood Education
• Cynthia Murray, Marvin Elementary
• Celia Pearson, Administrative Center
• Jeffrey Wareing, Kratz Elementary

2025-2026 Retirees: 

• Lisa Brougham, Ritenour High School
• Cynthia A. Busby, Marion Elementary
• Jennifer Carcagno, Buder Elementary
• Ruth Ann Carter, Transportation
• Leslie Fister, Iveland Elementary
• Laura Gehrin, Marion Elementary
• Dionne Gleckler, Administrative Center
• Jo Ann Guarino, Wyland Elementary/SSD
• Asma Hassan, School for Early Childhood Education
• Susan Heidorn, Ritenour Middle School
• Cindy Herd, Wyland Elementary
• Wilma Higgins, Hoech Middle School & Husky Academy
• Amie McGraw, Marion Elementary
• Ricky Newson, Ritenour Middle School
• Penni Nuttall, Ritenour High School
• Bryan Sanker, Transportation
• Joseph Scheidler, Ritenour High School
• Sylvia Steiner, Wyland Elementary
• Matthew Steitz, Ritenour High School
• J. Krisstin Swyres, Ritenour High School
• Barbara Tabron, Buder Elementary
• Sharon Turner, Ritenour Middle School 
• Brenda Westermayer, Hoech Middle School