Allendale County Schools celebrate year’s end with gala and awards

Allendale County Schools ended the school year by putting its staff front and center at the district’s second annual End of the Year Gala. The evening gave employees a chance to dress up, unwind and share a night of fellowship and celebration, but it also served a more practical purpose: spotlighting the teachers and support staff holding the district together.

The gala included dinner, cake, a charcuterie board, peach cobbler, dancing and a 360 photo booth, giving the event the feel of a reward as much as a ceremony. Superintendent Dr. Vallerie Cave used the celebration stream to recognize employees for outstanding work and dedication, naming Fnu Diwakar of Allendale-Fairfax High School as District Teacher of the Year. The district also identified Humphrey Arkad as Rookie Teacher of the Year and Latonia Penn as District Support Staff Person of the Year.

The recognitions point directly to the parts of the district carrying the heaviest load. Allendale County Schools lists Diwakar as a SPED teacher with a master’s plus 30 at Allendale-Fairfax High School, while the school’s staff page lists Arkad as a business teacher there. Penn’s award underscores the role of support staff in keeping a small district functioning day to day, from classrooms to offices to the routines that rarely get public notice.

Dr. Cave’s own background gives the ceremony added weight. She is a native of Allendale County and a 1978 graduate of Allendale-Fairfax High School, and before becoming superintendent she taught at Allendale Primary for eight years as a first-grade teacher. That local history made the acknowledgments look less like formal program language and more like an internal message about continuity, experience and keeping good people in place.

The district’s Teacher of the Year process also fits into a broader South Carolina system in which district teachers are nominated for state consideration, with the goal of celebrating excellence and strengthening the teaching force. Allendale County Schools has used year-end recognition before: in 2023, the district named Marilyn Davis, a school counselor at Allendale-Fairfax Elementary School since August 2004, as District Teacher of the Year at its June 7 celebration. Taken together, the two ceremonies show a district using its biggest public year-end event to reinforce who is expected to carry the work into the next school year.