The School District of Osceola County, Florida

The Osceola School District has named the following individuals as its 2024 Outstanding School Volunteers of the Year in recognition of their exceptional commitment to student learning and success:

Outstanding Youth Volunteer - Claire Ziemba, Celebration High

Claire is someone who has, in her four years at Celebration High School, strived to bring out the best in the student body. Through her work as Student Government President (SGA), she helped to raise $2000 for breast cancer research. She created a Positivity Week to change the stigma of mental health, allowing students to express themselves. Claire founded the People, Earth & Animals organization that raised $1300 for relief in Ukraine. This was recognized by UNICEF. 

Claire volunteers with Disney’s Wilderness Preserve and Broken Tree Ranch, working with and caring for animals. She also was a Disney Volunteer Ambassador for Cancer Marathon Runs. In her “spare” time she is a College Board online SAT Peer Tutor, and speaks to incoming IB students and their parents about what the IB program can do for them. Her role as Student Government President has allowed her to directly impact the positive culture of the school. Claire Ziemba is an outstanding individual who represents so much of what we strive for our young people to be--caring, compassionate and empathetic to others.

Outstanding Adult Volunteer - Sandra Vega, Partin Settlement Elementary

In the short time Sandra has been with Partin Settlement, she has moved and organized their PBIS store to a more convenient location, and organized their FIT food pantry. Every Friday she picks up bakery donations, then comes to campus to pack them up and distribute them to our FIT students. These are just a few of the larger projects she has undertaken in the short time she has been a member of the Partin family. She is willing to help with anything she is asked to do. In the last three months, she has volunteered at PSES approximately 250 hours. 

Through the projects she has assisted with, Sandra Vega has made an indirect impact on student achievement. By making sure that our FIT students have food bags they are better able to focus in the classroom. Her help with the PBIS store helps promote attendance, student behavior, and overall positive climate of the school.

Outstanding Senior Volunteer - Debbie Newell, Zenith Accelerated Academy/COPE

Debbie was a long-time employee of the school district back when she started the Creating Opportunities for Parenting Education (COPE) program. She and Ann Scott worked with young ladies who either recently had their babies or were pregnant expectant mothers. Over the years, the COPE program has grown, and Debbie continues to be a stalwart for the program. She started the Teen Mom’s Chose Life, a program where she acts as president of the organization and oversees a board of concerned local citizens. 

Debbie oversees the community donation room on the Zenith campus. Each week Debbie receives donations from the Celebration Foundation and from the Central Florida Food Bank to help support our students and local community. Debbie mentors, feeds, mothers, and truly cares for the young ladies who NEED her guidance. Mrs. Newell opens her home to these young ladies and provides the guidance that many of them would not otherwise get if not for the kindness she provides. Mrs. Newell is also willing to help any student who needs food for the weekend or clothes for a younger sibling, or a kind word or hug. Debbie is a gem, and Zenith is so grateful to her for the work she is doing. 

Debbie will never take credit for any of the wonderful things she does for kids. She will say it’s the work of all of her volunteers, but the TRUTH is that there would not be a COPE program, there would not be a Teen’s Chose Life program and there would not be a donation room at Zenith were it not for the hard and tireless work of Mrs. Debbie Newell.

Thank you to these three individuals and to all OASIS Volunteers for their dedication to Osceola schools.

Here is a list of all the 2023-2024 Outstanding School Volunteer nominations we received: