Students and a Teacher Honored by Coconut Creek Police for “Doing the Right Thing” 

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Kathryn Columbus told Coconut Creek Talk she loves seeing her students learn. Pictured here with Broward County Public Schools Principal of the Year Kassandra Fried of Cypress Bay High School and Mayor Joshua Rydell. {Photos by Coconut Creek Police}

By David Volz

The Coconut Creek Police Do the Right Thing program honored five students and a teacher at the February 22 commission meeting.

Do the Right Thing of Coconut Creek is an awards program designed to encourage positive relations between local law enforcement and the youth in the city. The program recognizes young people for volunteering, helping law enforcement, leadership, acts of heroism, and being a positive role model. It also recognizes young people who strive to make good choices, do well in school, and give back to the community, according to the DTRT website.

Honorees

Elijah Ortiz, a senior at Monarch High School, was awarded after his younger brother called him on his cell phone saying he had left his school at Winston Park Elementary School. Ortiz called the police about the situation, and they later found him at Sabal Pines Park.

Xena Ceron was awarded for being a top student at Coconut Creek High School, earning 250 service hours, mainly at Tomorrow’s Rainbow Equine Therapy Center. She also helped collect toys for the Coconut Creek Police Toy Drive. Now a junior, she ranks seventh out of 400 students.

Nicholas Cuervo Leon, a senior at The College Academy at Broward College in Coconut Creek, was awarded for collecting toys and working with the Coconut Creek Police Department to distribute them.

Bryce Wood, a kindergartener at Tradewinds Elementary School, was awarded for being a positive role model and working to clean the classroom and the lunchroom. He is known for looking for ways to help others at his school.

Alex Rodriguez, a seventh grader at Lyons Creek Middle School, is a second-time winner selected because of his strong performance and leadership. Rodriguez is also a member of the math and debate teams and previously received the award in 2019 as a second grader at Winston Park Elementary School.

Kathryn Columbus, a fourth-grade teacher at Tradewinds Elementary, was awarded for using lessons from the real world. Recently, she taught a math lesson by having her students calculate how much a list of grocery items from Publix would cost. “I love to see my students learn,” she told Coconut Creek Talk.

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Author Profile

David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.

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