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"Employees key to district success"
By M. Magdalena Carrillo Mejia, PhD
In
this issue of The Connection, we feature the Classified Champions and
Teachers of the Year. They are all dedicated employees and
representative of the 6,000 men and women who serve our children and
community.
As we struggle with the state’s fiscal crisis and its impact on our
schools, it is critical for us to do all we can to recruit and retain
our employees, to provide training aimed at continuous improvement and
ensure that our employees are supported in the work of assisting
students to achieve success.
Classified employees do much more than their jobs of driving buses,
answering phones, serving meals, or maintaining clean and attractive
facilities. They go above and beyond their specified jobs to create
relationships with students and strengthen the home/school bond.
Our 15 Classified Champions are true representatives of this spirit.
They are Julie Borgogno, Linda Carey, Gloria Chung, Roberta Erickson,
Monica Garland, Carolyn Knox, Jonie Luke, Tonie McGlothlin, Cindy
Nguyen, Alice Rogers, Diane Salais, Linda-Lee Smith, Laury Stansbery,
David Wong and Louis Zabala, Jr.
This year, the California Department of Education also began a
classified employee recognition program similar to their program
honoring outstanding state teachers. Our first ever nominees for this
recognition were Mary Dawidczik, Robert Mamola, Rebecca Mendoza, Shirley
Arruda, Leea Rodriguez and Christrina Ahokava.
In addition, we also honored two district “Teachers of the Year.” Sylvia
Rodriguez and Tiffany Wilson, both elementary teachers epitomize what it
means when we say, “Success for Every Student by Name.” Ms. Rodriguez,
is a teacher at Phoebe Hearst, created a science project which led to
winning the Disney Environmentality Challenge. Ms. Wilson, a teacher at
Pacific, has helped her second grade students realize tremendous
academic gains.
To all these outstanding employees I extend my thanks for their work
ethic, commitment to service and support of our students. They are an
invaluable part of our district and community. We honor them and their
many contributions.
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