The Oxford School District named Oxford High School teacher Charlie Winnick its employee of the year for the 2020-21 school year.

During Monday’s OSD Board of Trustees meeting, Winnick was honored by superintendent Bradley Roberson. Roberson hired Winnick to be a French and English Language Learner (ELL) teacher when he was the OHS principal.

Winnick started his education career in 2013 and was hired by OSD in 2019. When he moved to Oxford from France, Winnick earned his Masters degree in French Literature at the University of Mississippi.

When Winnick was working with the ELL sophomores as a full-time sub, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Winnick had to get his contract status changed to be ‘essential’ to be able to see the year out with those students.

“Charlie is the OSD Employee of the Year because he works with our non-English speaking students and helps them beyond the wall of Oxford High School,” read a comment by Roberson from one of Winnicks colleagues at OHS. “Mr. Winnick builds relationships and extends helpful services to our EL family. He helps our students find their safety net and expand their education, so that they can be successful in our community.”

The OSD Employee of the Year is selected at the end of the school year out of all the OSD Employee of the Week honorees through a poll of all OSD faculty and staff. Winnick was named the OSD Employee of the Week for the week of Feb. 15.

Winnick teaches in the EL department along with his wife, Chelsea, who is also a French teacher at OHS. Along with serving as a teacher, Winnick is also the assistant coach for Oxford’s boys soccer team.

“I know (Roberson) kind of took a gamble on, first my wife, and then myself. (I) Hope I paid that back,” Winnick said. “I just want to say thank you to Mr. Roberson and (OHS principal) Mr. (Noah) Hamilton for his patience. Several people in our short time in Oxford helped make it feel like home.”