Eight employees of the Manatee County School District were surprised today by a visit from Superintendent Cynthia Saunders, Deputy Superintendents Genelle Zoratti-Yost and Doug Wagner, Executive Director of Manatee Education Foundation Mary Glass, members of the District Leadership Team and Marty the Marauder, as they learned they have been named finalists for this year’s “Excellence In Education Awards.”  The Excellence In Education Awards celebrate excellence in education in Manatee County by selecting an “Educator of the Year” and a “Support Employee of the Year.”  The four finalists in the Educator of the Year category are: Faith Bench, Mathematics Teacher at Braden River Middle School; Amanda English, Science Teacher at Bayshore High; Susan Nickerson, 4th Grade Teacher at Palmetto Elementary; and, Jennifer Santora, 3rd Grade Teacher at Gullett Elementary. The four finalists in the Support Employee of the Year Finalists category are: Christal Cashmore, Paraprofessional at Myakka City Elementary; Alison Cooper, Clerical Assistant at Williams Elementary; Amie Golden, Registrar at Witt Elementary; and, Marth Stroup, Senior School Secretary at Freedom Elementary.