CEHS Achievement Center Director Ginger Raspiller Named CEEF 2011 Brownell Award Recipient

CEEF's Brownell Award honors the teacher or staff person who has done an exemplary job in implementing a CEEF grant. There is perhaps no CEEF grant that is more tied to CEEF than the Achievement Center at the high school, seeded by CEEF's first multi-year large-impact grant in 2005. And directly tied to the phenomenal success of the Achievement Center is the person at its helm: Ginger Raspiller.  Raspiller was named 2011 Brownell Award recipient at the 2011 teacher/staff assembly at the start of school.  

Below is the transcript of Ms. Raspiller's acceptance speech, given on August 30, 2011.

Leading the Achievement Center has been one of my greatest opportunities and a chance to make a difference. And for that, I am deeply grateful. 

From the beginning, the Achievement Center has been a team effort. The team includes the Achievement Center staff as well as our many community and student volunteers.  Our success is a result of teamwork, collaboration, flexibility and a commitment to our mission – to provide individualized academic support for every student at Cape Elizabeth High School. 

The founding members:  Elaine Brownell, Lisa Melanson, Rob Thompson, and Matt Clements laid the foundation for our success in our critical first year.  Over the past 6 years though the makeup of the Achievement Center staff has changed our mission and commitment to our students remains the same. 

I am deeply grateful to the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation and to our School Board for their financial support and their commitment to the Achievement Center during some very tough economic times. 

I would also like to thank Jeff Shedd who saw a need and an opportunity and helped make the Center a reality.  Jeff, thank you for giving me this opportunity and for your confidence and steadfast support.

I would also like to thank Gary Lanoie for hiring me as member of the technology department - that was my first job in this district.  That experience combined with the excellent training I received helped prepare me to take on this challenge.

And finally, “thank you” to my all colleagues across all departments, the members of the community and especially to my husband Ken Swanberg for your support.  We are on this journey together along with all of you -- making a difference.

Again, thank you to the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation. I am honored to receive this award.

Ginger Raspiller receives an embrace from award namesake Elaine Brownell