Trafalgar Middle’s Peggy Quinn named School Related Employee of the Year
A 26-year employee of Trafalgar Middle School recently received the 2025 School Related Employee of the Year, a recognition that shocked her.
“It really is such an honor. I could not believe it — 26 years here, 30 years in the system. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t like it,” Peggy Quinn said.
Quinn fell into working at an elementary school when her kids started school. She said she went from Gulf Elementary School to Pelican Elementary before going to Trafalgar Middle.
She recalled thinking the students were so big, as she is only five feet tall, when she transitioned from elementary to middle school.
“They are bigger than me — what am I going to do,” Quinn said.
Fortunately, that shift from elementary to middle school became just the right fit.
“My daughter started middle school when I started, so it was nice for both of us. It was nice for me to experience that age of kid when my kid experienced it, too,” she said.
When she was first hired at Trafalgar Middle School, she remembers the principal saying “You get to come to school every day.”
“I keep that in mind. Not everybody does. I get to come to a school, a job, that I love, I am pretty fortunate that way.”
The jobs she has held since starting at Trafalgar Middle School have run the gamut from being a paraprofessional in the library, to following students through classes to help them.
“I can’t imagine not working with these kids,” Quinn said of the middle school age.
Quinn is now in the front office answering phones and greeting parents.
“I have seen generations of kids that were friends with my daughter when they were in kindergarten. They now have kids that are at my school,” she said, adding that she loves seeing the kids’ faces.
Quinn has also been the assistant coach for the girl’s soccer team for 17 years.
School Related Employees include bus drivers, technical support staff, social workers, helping teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, cafeteria staff, custodians and more. The school administrators nominate deserving support personnel for the School Related Employee of the Year. A selection committee reviews nominated forms, as wells as continuing education and training courses completed by the nominees to pick the award recipient.
“Peggy exemplifies dedication, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to our students and staff,” Trafalgar Middle School Assistant Principal Dawn Beckman said in a prepared statement. “Her ability to build strong, trusting relationships across all areas of our school community has made her an invaluable asset. Her work goes far beyond her job title, impacting every corner of our school through her warm personality, high standards, and willingness to support others in any way possible.”
Quinn’s nomination will be forwarded to the Florida Department of Education for the state competition of the School Related Employee of the Year.
Quinn said among the things she enjoys the most about being at Trafalgar Middle is the community of the school and of Cape Coral.
“I call different businesses every year to get donations for things we do. Because I have done it, and because people know what I am calling for and trust me, they are willing to give to our school and help out with whatever we need,” she said. “It is just a nice downhome kind of feel. It makes it easy to stay here and makes you want to help out and do good.”
Quinn also loves working with the people that make up Trafalgar Middle School.
“We are a big happy family here,” she said.