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<p>An Okatie Elementary School kindergarten assistant was named Friday, May 24, as the Beaufort County School District’s 2019 Support Person of the Year.</p>
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<p>The selection of Kari Dollar was announced at a breakfast recognizing schools’ previously announced individual honorees.</p>
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<p>Dollar is completing her second year as a kindergarten assistant at Okatie Elementary, where she helps students with their math, reading and writing skills, helps with overall classroom management and works behind the scenes to help keep the school running smoothly.</p>
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<p>“Kari is a very genuine and dedicated person,” Okatie Elementary Principal Jamie Pinckney said in a release. “She’s kind, patient, generous, smart and organized, and nobody is going to out-work her.”</p>
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<p>Dollar said she was surprised and excited by today’s announcement.</p>
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<p>“What an honor to be chosen to represent support staff across our entire district,” Dollar said. “We’re blessed with lots of wonderful employees who also deserve this recognition. This is a great place to be.”</p>
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<p>Dollar has a bachelor’s degree in animal nutrition.</p>
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<p>Pinckney said Dollar was active in Okatie Elementary’s PTO and School Improvement Council when her two children were students there, and now that her children attend May River High, she is active in that school’s PTO and SIC.</p>
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<p>Interim Superintendent Herb Berg said Dollar would be an excellent representative for the school district’s diverse array of support staff, which can include teaching assistants, social workers, school nurses, bookkeepers, office managers, media specialists, school secretaries and technology and data specialists.</p>
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<p>“No school can be successful without a strong support staff,” Berg said. “What they do each and every day makes it possible for teachers and students to succeed in the classroom.”</p>
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<p>Dollar was awarded a $250 gas card from Parker’s, which sponsored the breakfast.<br></p>
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