Withlacoochee SAR honors Crystal River teacher for second year running

Crystal River High School history teacher Cyndal Houts emerged as the top local honoree again when the Withlacoochee Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution named her its History Teacher of the Year for a second straight year. The recognition came at the chapter’s educational awards ceremony at Chinsegut Hill Retreat, a Brooksville landmark whose manor house dates to the 1850s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For Hernando County families, the ceremony was about more than plaques and certificates. The SAR says its youth awards are meant to build civic responsibility, duty and a deeper understanding of the Revolutionary War era, the founding of the United States and the constitutional ideas that followed. Many of those programs begin at the local chapter level before moving on to state and national competition, which gives students and teachers a path from neighborhood classrooms to wider recognition.

Houts, who the Hernando Sun described as highly regarded by both peers and students, has already advanced to the Florida Society level and will compete for the statewide award. The Florida SAR has 32 chapters, so the step up widens the field significantly. The broader American history teacher program tied to the SAR’s Revolutionary War focus can include prizes worth up to $5,000 and seminar opportunities, while the national winner receives a professional educational opportunity at a national seminar.

Students from Hernando County also came away with honors in the essay contest. At Wider Horizons School in Spring Hill, Alexander Jorge earned first place, Beatrice Maglio took second and Hayley DesLauriers placed third. The contest centered on original essays about the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the framing of the U.S. Constitution, pushing students beyond memorizing names and dates and into direct engagement with the ideas that shaped the nation.

The chapter also recognized a Nature Coast Technical High School team in its youth video contest, showing that the outreach extends beyond traditional writing. That mix of essays and media projects matters in a county where civic education can look different from one school to the next: some students respond to research and writing, while others find their voice through production and presentation.

Held on April 25 and later highlighted in a May 21 Hernando Sun story, the ceremony tied Brooksville-area history to student achievement in a setting that is itself part of the county’s story. At Chinsegut Hill Retreat, the past was not just remembered. It became part of how local students and teachers were being asked to carry it forward.