Rachel Steinman is well on her way to a bright and successful future after having received several awards, including the Evelyn Sumner Award, for the 1998-99 school year at Howard Drive Elementary.

Lourdes Punal, 1998-99 Howard Drive PTA president, and fifth-grader Rachel Steinman.

The trophy, presented by Lourdes Punal, president of the PTA, was given to the fifth grader during the school’s award ceremony on June 16.

The award was established in honor of Evelyn Sumner, a retired fifth grade teacher at Howard Drive Elementary whose standards exemplified excellence in all academic areas. The student receiving the award must have achieved the highest grade point average in all subject areas for the entire school year.

"The award is a very prestigious one," said Marisol Diaz, assistant principal. "There were over 100 fifth graders at Howard Drive this year, and they all had so much going on throughout the year. It is quite an accomplishment to be able to maintain such a high average."

Evelyn Sumner retired in June 1991, and the award has been given ever since. She had worked in the Dade County Public School system for over 40 years, and had been a fifth grade teacher at Howard Drive Elementary for 20 years.

"The award I am presenting this morning is given to a student who exhibits the qualities Mrs. Sumner would have been proud of," Punal said during the ceremony.

Rachel has been a student at Howard Drive Elementary since Kindergarten, and has excelled academically each year.

"I am absolutely thrilled at her having receiving the award. It is quite overwhelming," said Riva Steinman, Rachel’s mother. "Rachel worked very hard throughout the school year and is very deserving of all of the awards. She really earned them."

Along with having been presented with the Evelyn Sumner Award, Rachel, 11, also was recognized for other various accomplishments. Among them were outstanding achievement in music, perfect attendance, citizenship, social studies, Spanish, and mathematics. The fifth grader also was presented with certificates from the safety patrol, Florida Future Educators of America, the DARE program and the Miami-Dade Geography Bee.

Rachel said she wants to be an attorney, "just like my father," when she grows up. Her father Jay Steinman is very proud.

"She is the apple of my eye," he said.

Rachel has two brothers, Gregg, 9, and Evan, 2.

"Gregg is very proud of his sister’s accomplishments," said Rachel’s mother. "We even pulled him out of class so that he could see her receiving the awards."

The Steinman family said that they will continue to support their daughter throughout her academic future, and have always been very proud of her.