Belton ISD bilingual paraprofessional recognized at third annual BESA Ceremony

May 15, 2025

Special to the Journal

Belton Journal

Education Service Center Region 12 honored the work of bilingual and ESL educators from around Region 12 during the third annual Bilingual/ESL Support Awards Ceremony on May 12.

Award categories included parent engagement, ambassadors for content-based language instruction, paraprofessional recognition, bilingual/ESL teachers of the year, bilingual/ESL leaders of the year and more.

Claudia Carrillo, Belton ISD, was recognized along with Mireya Villasensor, Hillsboro ISD, as Paraprofessionals of the Year.

The lineup of 2025 BESA winners also included:

Community Partner Award:

Dr. Tracey Jones, Baylor University

ESC Collaborator Award:

Kari Kenobbie-Espin and Lindsay Olsen, ESC

Region 12

Parent, Family and Community Engagement

 School Leader of the Year:

Patricia Roberts, Hillsboro ISD

Parent, Family and Community Engagement - Parent

Award: Laura Angélica Peña and Oscar Nicolás Peña

Castellón, Killeen ISD

Content-Based Language Instruction Ambassadors: Hamilton ISD, Rice ISD and Killeen ISD

Content-Based Language Instruction Implementor of the Year: Wendy Lewis, Killeen ISD

The Open Road to Language: McDade ISD

Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year: Shelly Burns, Mexia ISD

Junior High ESL Teacher of the Year: Alfonso Weems, Marlin ISD

High School ESL Teacher of the Year: Tiffany Yoder, La Vega ISD

New ESL Teacher of the Year: Jennifer Clark, Salado ISD

Content-Based Language Instruction Teacher of the Year: Janna Whitehead, Hamilton ISD

Dual Language Teacher of the Year: Beatriz Molina, Killeen ISD

Bilingual Team of the Year: Copperas Cove Dual Language

Data Diver: Hamilton ISD

District Leader of the Year: Erika Rains, Temple ISD

Leadership Team of the Year: Deena Cornblum, Carmen Diaz Perez, Cathleen Rooney and Milissa Johnson Waco ISD -