Westridge’s Molly Clince Named Rockwood School District 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year
![A Rockwood teacher smiles with the district Teacher of the Year trophy.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1715003007/rsdmoorg/ef9omf1wect4tsiy8ppl/MollyClinceTOY2024forweb.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1715003007/rsdmoorg/ef9omf1wect4tsiy8ppl/MollyClinceTOY2024forweb.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1715003007/rsdmoorg/ef9omf1wect4tsiy8ppl/MollyClinceTOY2024forweb.jpg","width":680}])
Westridge’s Molly Clince Named Rockwood School District 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year
At this year's ROSE Award Ceremony, Westridge Elementary fifth-grade teacher Molly Clince was named Rockwood School District’s 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year.
Fellow grade-level Teachers of the Year CJ VanZandt (Crestview Middle) and Jenni Highfill (Eureka High) and all Rockwood building-level Teachers of the Year were also honored at the ROSE ceremony on Sunday, May 5.
“I love my people. There is nothing more that I love every day than my people,” Clince said during her acceptance speech. “I love my students. I love my families. I love my co-workers. And I love being part of Rockwood.”
Clince is a Rockwood graduate – attending Ellisville Elementary, Crestview and Lafayette High – who began her career in education as a technology teaching assistant at Westridge in 2006. She has been a classroom teacher at Westridge since 2009 and has been nominated for school Teacher of the Year seven times.
She is also a ROSE Award (2021) and Cornerstone Award (2008) recipient and has served in leadership roles on multiple school and district committees.
As the winner of the district Teacher of the Year, Clince is now eligible to participate at the regional and state level in the Missouri Teacher of the Year program, which is conducted annually by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“I’ve been a student in Rockwood, a substitute teacher, a teaching assistant, and I’m very, very honored to be a staff member in this amazing district,” Clince said. “I’m so humbled to be standing in front of you representing Rockwood and for all of the good work we do every day, I just don’t have enough words or time to really tell you what this means. But I am very resolved in saying I love my people.
“Thank you so much for allowing me to represent all of you.”
Do you want to stay up to date on all the latest news from Rockwood?
Recent News Articles
![A phone screen displays the Rockwood tree, with three text bubbles to the side.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1745348944/rsdmoorg/qbeyihayxbbfu2pzgtdf/Surveymessage2025forweb.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1745348944/rsdmoorg/qbeyihayxbbfu2pzgtdf/Surveymessage2025forweb.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1745348944/rsdmoorg/qbeyihayxbbfu2pzgtdf/Surveymessage2025forweb.jpg","width":680}])
Phones are ringing across the Rockwood School District as a brief survey has begun to solicit patron feedback. School district officials say the survey of district households will provide insight into what residents think about the district and potential financing for staff salaries and benefits as well as additional safety personnel.
![Rockwood Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain smiles with a student.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1744645085/rsdmoorg/itrdfp8dtuetkjke0p4v/Caincontract_May25forweb.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1744645085/rsdmoorg/itrdfp8dtuetkjke0p4v/Caincontract_May25forweb.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1744645085/rsdmoorg/itrdfp8dtuetkjke0p4v/Caincontract_May25forweb.jpg","width":680}])
Earlier this spring, the Rockwood Board of Education unanimously approved extending Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain's contract through the 2027-2028 school year.
![New Board of Education 2025]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1744327744/rsdmoorg/o7mlcd2htw7trmvtzotc/BOE2025updated.jpg","width":2200}])
The Rockwood School District Board of Education held its reorganization meeting Thursday, April 10. New Director Sarah Boyer and returning member Dr. Mara Vorachek-Warren were sworn in for three-year terms that will end in the spring of 2028.
![Rockwood community members collaborate at a Strategic Plan Steering Committee meeting.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1744381200/rsdmoorg/dhxuhlyrwpp7bp2yfvud/CSIPMeeting6forweb.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1744381200/rsdmoorg/dhxuhlyrwpp7bp2yfvud/CSIPMeeting6forweb.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1744381200/rsdmoorg/dhxuhlyrwpp7bp2yfvud/CSIPMeeting6forweb.jpg","width":680}])
The Rockwood School District Strategic Plan Steering Committee held its sixth meeting at the Administrative Annex on April 8, as part of the yearlong process to help prepare for a new district strategic plan for 2025-2030.