From teachers to athletic directors, theater directors to librarians, staff and faculty members at South County public schools have received a slew of honors in the past month. Here are some of the recent awards received by employees of the Lindbergh, Mehlville and Affton school districts.
Coming from Lindbergh, librarian Sara Levine of Long Elementary School was selected as the Greater St. Louis School Librarian of the Year. Levine has worked in her current position since 2019. Before that, she worked for both the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School District and the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS).
“We are so proud of her dedication to our students, her love of literacy and the incredible impact she has on our school community,” a Facebook post by Lindbergh Schools stated about Levine.
Meanwhile, in the Mehlville School District, the athletic director at Oakville High School, Becky Czuppon, was named the 2025-2026 Athletic Director of the Year for the St. Louis region by the Missouri Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA).
Czuppon has worked at Oakville High School since 2001, when she started as a social studies teacher. Six years later, in 2007, she became the athletic director and has served in that role ever since.
“Becky’s actions and dedication to the student athletes of Oakville High School make her more than deserving of this award,” Mehlville Superintendent Jeff Haug said. “Not only is she a leader within the school, and an advocate for students, she is a mentor and wealth of knowledge for her athletic director colleagues around the county.”
In the same school district, Mehlville High School theater teacher Johanna Beck received the 2026 Judith Rethwisch Outstanding Thespian Teacher Award at the state conference for Missouri Thespians. One theater teacher is chosen each year for exemplifying “the best qualities of a teacher” and for making “a difference in the lives of their students.”
The “Judith Rethwisch Outstanding Thespian Teacher Award” may sound familiar to students and faculty at Affton High School. Their very own theater director, Judith Rethwisch herself, was inducted into the Missouri Thespian Hall of Fame during the Missouri Thespians conference this month.
“For the past 25-and-a-half years, I’ve had the incredible privilege of working alongside and learning from Ms. Judy Rethwisch,” said Brian Jennings, an English Language Arts teacher at AHS. He introduced Rethwisch during the conference and presented her with the award.
“Ms. Rethwisch has dedicated more than 60 years of her life to introducing thousands of young people like you to the power and magic of theater,” Jennings said during his presentation. “I should say that 60 years is continuing — we are skipping school today for this honor.”
Rethwisch was instrumental in establishing the very first Missouri Thespians conference in the 1970s, and she has facilitated over 120 shows on the stage of AHS. During Jennings’ presentation, he jokingly set aside several sheets of paper listing Rethwisch’s many accomplishments, awards and organizations founded, since the conference had a “busy agenda.”
“Judy, I am so incredibly happy to present this award to you,” Jennings said. “You are a beautiful human being. You have created and continued to foster a beautiful community, and I’m very happy to present you with your well-earned place in the Missouri Thespian Hall of Fame.”
