Dawn Lloyd Matthews Receives Prestigious NYSUT Award

Sayville Middle School Social Worker Dawn Lloyd-Matthews Honored with 2017 Constituency Award from NYSUT

For her union advocacy and community service, Sayville Middle School Social worker Mrs. Dawn Lloyd-Matthews was recently given the prestigious Constituency Award by NYSUT and recognized during a recent ceremony.  (Read below the excerpt from the NYSUT website regarding her accomplishments that earned this award.)

Mrs. Lloyd-Matthews has always been defined by her passion to lend her voice for others, whether they were colleagues or students. She has spent eighteen years in Sayville School district being an advocate for middle school students, interacting with parents, teachers, pupil personnel, and administration on a daily basis.  Mrs. Lloyd-Matthews, along with the district’s psychologists and student assistance councilors, continues to provide valuable services by working with students who are referred for social, emotional and/or behavioral concerns that could possibly be affecting their academic performance. Mrs. Lloyd-Matthews responsibilities at Sayville Middle School includes individual, group and family counseling, crisis intervention, parental support, custody issues, counseling referrals, health insurance collaboration, homelessness issues, child abuse and/or neglect,  and assisting families in financial need. 

“From the beginning of her tenure, she has been proactive in developing programs to promote kindness and denounce bullying,” Sayville School Superintendent Dr. Walter Schartner (formerly her Middle School Principal) remarked. “She was an architect of a grade 6 – 8 program for students and a pioneer in addressing cyberbullying.  She was a presenter at several national conferences regarding her cyberbullying program.”

To ensure the welfare of all students New York State and Federal programs have mandated such counseling services within schools, but Mrs. Lloyd-Matthews has continually gone above and beyond those expectations in Sayville.  “Her door is always open for students at Sayville Middle School,” Dr. Schartner continued. “Not only has she forged a relationship with the students at the middle school as a social worker but also as a basketball and lacrosse coach.”

As President of the Sayville Teachers Association and a former special education teacher at the Middle School,  Tim Southerton has witnessed firsthand the determination and commitment of his colleague Dawn Lloyd-Matthews : “… Dawn does not stop with committing her energies to union activities. Dawn is also treasured as our social worker. Within that role, she has initiated and coordinated several community outreach programs to those in need and special programs for students at risk. She is highly respected and trusted by her colleagues. She is also highly regarded by our district’s administration and achieves that respect without compromising her commitment to the goals of our union. There is little that goes on within our school community in which Dawn has not played a hand in helping. She has also been a speaker at professional conferences, targeting the topic of cyber bullying, an area in which she has devoted much of her time to combating.”

“In my opinion,” Mr. Southerton stated in reference to the NYSUT award, “none is more deserving than Dawn.”

Congratulations, Dawn Lloyd-Matthews, for your outstanding efforts as an advocate in Sayville School District for our students, our faculty, and our staff!

http://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/awards-and-honors/constituency-awards 

FROM THE NYSUT WEBSITE: 

Lloyd-Matthews has served in several key leadership roles with the STA, including executive vice president, grievance coordinator and as a member of the union’s negotiating team. She is also an STA convention delegate to NYSUT and the American Federation of Teachers.

A member of the National Association of School Social Workers and the New York State School Workers Association, Lloyd-Matthews also has worked in the classroom, lecturing on social networking behavior, the Dignity for All Students Act, relationships and suicide prevention.