Teacher, Principal of Year Honored

The Riverside County teacher and principal of the year were honored Tuesday by the Riverside County Office of Education at the Celebrating Educators Luncheon at the Riverside Convention Center.

Joseph Balleweg, the principal of , was named the Principal of the Year.

Melissa Casady, an English teacher also from Great Oak, was named the Teacher of the Year.

Balleweg joined Great Oak in 2007, but he served in education for 18 years, said Rick Peoples, spokesperson for the county’s Department of Education.

Balleweg became a junior high school reading and language arts teacher in 1993. He taught English at in 1999 and at Great Oak in 2004.

He became the assistant principal at Great Oak in 2006. He chaired the English Department at both Chaparral and Great Oak, according to Peoples.

Balleweg was named Teacher of the Year previously. He coached high school tennis and soccer and is a volunteer youth baseball coach.

Casady has been a teacher for nine years, starting at Chaparral starting at Chaparral.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from . She’s a master teacher in English, a beginning teacher mentor, a yearbook adviser and the co-department chair in English.

She has been the California Coastal Credit Union Teacher of the Month, a Crystal Apple nominee and the Renaissance Teacher of the Year in 2009.