001open session of the may 5th Azusa Unified School District Board of Education meeting to order we'll start with the flag salute I pledge allegiance to of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation a flag [Music] okay next for roll call board member Cruz Gonzalez here board member Rodriguez Pena I said Lord remember Greer here remember Ariana's present and I'm here alright and next remove to see 4.1 approval of the agenda would anybody like to move I move to approve the agenda I second a moved by board member greer seconded by board member Ariana's is there any discussion okay if that's we can go ahead and vote I'm sorry I'm not logged in it's gonna take me a couple seconds okay having issues a gap can you log
002out and log back in - I I see bored waiting on Gabriella no okay so we'll have to do a hand vote so we've already uh yes board member ariana.sea board member Cruz Gonzalez says yes you're not Pina yes or member Greer yes all right so the past is four zero and then we move on to items from it's more public comment this is the opportunity for the public to address the board on agenda or non-agenda items no action can be taken on non-agenda items individual speakers may be allowed up to three minutes to address the board on any agenda or non agenda items prior to addressing the board please fill out the request to speak public comment blue card and submit it to the board secretary and I'm assuming that state on its way
003right yeah so anyone who's in the audience click the raise your hand button and then will take down your name and put you in the speaker queue nobody wants to speak it looks like there's nobody okay sounds good then we will move on to item 6.0 comments and requests by the board 6.1 comments and request by the board board member Cruz Gonzalez I'll be just be brief I don't have any comments and requests I think we just had had a meeting last week but just to say congratulations to all of the teachers of the year I'm very well-deserved especially under in light of what's happening the last couple months and congratulations to all teachers this week as we appreciate them okay board member Rodriguez opinion yes good evening everyone I just want to also wish
004happy teachers appreciation week which it really should be happy appreciation teachers year and I want to thank all the teachers during this time and district distant learning we you know from one day to the next we just changed the way of learning and it was so great how I've been hearing very good comments about the teachers in the classes and how they working with their students why parents and how you just jump right into it and and there's no words that I can really describe how I really appreciate what you did it's such a quick time and also I want to wish everyone happy Cinco DeMayo what I do miss is going to the schools and going seeing the festivities and see we've seen the kids dance and sing and I that's what I miss
005the most thank you lord member Greer good evening everybody yeah just a couple things one similar to what's what's been communicated just want to say you know this this week being Teacher Appreciation Week and and yeah there's never been a year where I think the the the value and appreciation for teachers has been more highlighted and so this this week is that much more special I think than others so just want to say thank you to all the teachers out there and especially those teachers that we have here in our district that are that are working so hard in light of everything that's going on and and also congratulations to those teachers who were going to be tonight it's a it's it's always you know fun and exciting times it's a little different this year
006than how we've normally done things but we're gonna go with it and I'm glad that we're still finding time and space and a way to honor and celebrate the the the the teachers who are who are doing this honor and celebration second last thing that I have is I know that I made mention last week of of wanting to find a way to connect with people online and so I I think I said that originally my hope was to find like a coffee shop and make myself available and and allow some people to kind of connect and that's not happening right now so in lieu of that I would like to extend an invitation to it's gonna be a coffee online and so well in encourage you to grab a couple of cup of coffee
007and join me for a coffee conversation again thinking through how exactly to do this it's gonna be this Monday May 11th I know last week I said April 11th inadvertantly May 11th at 6:00 p.m. and so when extend that invitation there's a website a web address and I'm gonna provide you with that has a Google Form and if you provide if you fill out some information then I'll make sure that you get all the details to be able to join in that that conversation and so it is the web address is Adrienne for Azusa and that's the number for Adrienne for Azusa dot-com slash coffee online again Adrienne number for Azusa dot-com slash coffee online so if you go ahead and do that I'll get your info and then I'll make sure that that you
008get the details so joining in on a call and again my hope is to kind of open up a conversation you can share whether it's challenges that you're having or things that are going well or just kind of generally opening up a conversation I want to create that space and so that will be happening this upcoming Monday that's all that okay thank you and board member ariana.sea yes I wanted to go ahead and start off by by reading this and it says teacher appreciation week is a celebration that honors teachers for the contributions they made towards education teachers helped shape the future of our children and are some of the most unhung cheer unsung unsung heroes who stuck often go unnoticed this year our teachers are more deserving of the celebration than ever before during
009this pandemic let's all be reminded to say thank you to the teachers who are preparing online class curriculum zoomy with students and continuing to provide the support necessary for our children to be successful and I I want to congratulate each each teacher being honored today and the Teacher of the Year I want to extend my gratitude to all the teachers in our district for going beyond and taking this overnight challenge of doing distance learning and for those that this is a great challenge I applaud you guys for willing to to learn this new technology so thank you thank you thank you and I would like to piggyback on top of everybody congratulate all the teachers apparently now everybody knows what you go through trying to teach a class all the parents are going take back
010I love teachers I love teachers it's so cute you are more appreciated than you will ever ever ever know I figured out when my kids were young and I walked up in it I've got four of them five years apart and I'm like no handle that minute together so all that you do and this new distance learning and I just cut dues across the board I really really appreciate everything you do and now we'll go ahead and move on to comments and requests reports by student board member who happens to be absent today Jen we miss Jin Valdez we miss you so forward to you at the next one and I'm sorry I missed a lot of votes with you last week and then student board member cabinet and superintendent 7.1 comments and reports okay
011let's start with Jorge thank you please good evening board members and guests I will reserve my comments for the actual item on teacher mission mark Bommarito I just wanted to say how amazing our teachers are and with all the challenges that we've had recently the ingenuity and skillfulness that they've been able to put lessons together so quickly it's been a true testament to the way that has deucey does education so very proud of everyone arthur dorotheya even everyone I just want to echo what everybody's saying I just want to send a congratulations to all the teachers that are being honored today also show my gratitude for the immense amount of learning and preparation as we are doing our distance learning today I got to jump into some optional professional learning and we had over 30
012teachers jumping on and so it just warms my heart to see the dedication of our teachers to become learners and teachers side-by-side with their students so congratulations thank you and I would also like to add to the tributes there aren't enough words I think that any of us has to thank teachers what they do with their children one of the things that I thoroughly enjoyed being here is getting the chance to see that light that goes on in a little kids eyes or a big kids when they have a chance to listen to their teacher and really resonate with the explanation that the teacher is given that is just priceless just priceless and it's thanks to the work of our teachers and when we've asked students what is it that they really admire about their
013teachers it's that ability to to help them learn to focus on of course the subject but to make sure that they learn and that caring and dedication is is the the highest accolade I think of what our highest best description of what our teachers do so thank you so much I'm really excited to see our celebration tonight thank you hmm okay and now we'll move to 8.0 report action of closed session matters there was nothing to report and we'll move on to 9.0 general functions 9.1 kovat 19 update so tonight we're having a special kind of update back over the 19 and that is because we know that we are celebrating teachers of the year today I thought it'd be really great to let the board hear from some of our own teachers about what
014they're doing how they're doing distance learning how they're working with their students so that you get a sense of a flavor of what it is that we are also proud of so our third Oh will you introduce our first speaker absolutely thank you so much I too and very excited to have our teachers one from the elementary level one from the middle school level and one from the high school level share some insights and give you a koban 19 on the distance learning block schedule plan and we'd like to start off by welcoming and turn it over to Janet short teacher from Murray elementary school thank you board members dr. Kaminsky and our whole is a family thank you for this opportunity to share some of my experiences with distance learning first I need to
015say thank you to our district for all of the support without our Tosa team without our Mis team I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing because of all the work they're doing I've been able to focus really on making connections with kids and on student learning because I'm not having to mess with all of the technology stuff and there's so much professional development out there and answers to questions when I need them so I just I just want to thank all those people who are are busy behind the scenes so that I can be online with my kiddos it's the connections really that we're making right now that I think are making the biggest difference connections they might be small but they're significant bright spots in what's going on I have one student
016who was finally able to join our classroom meetings after a few weeks and working on getting her to internet and getting her technology and the first time the rest of my class saw her come on everybody was just ecstatic hi are you doing oh my gosh and one little girl who's one of my true true people people people but I'm a little bit worried about this situation just burst out oh my gosh Chiara it's so good to see you how are you and I'm worried about you and and are you okay and how are your sisters and how is your mom and she just had to ask the whole thing so it's really good to see ya it was just this heartfelt sentiment from a nine-year-old and it was neat to see their connection and
017how they're still finding classroom community even in this crazy time um I have an open office hours meet during the week on Wednesday afternoon where kids can come just drop by if they need to ask a question about an assignment I'm just there working and a couple kids said teacher can we come even if we don't have a question can we come and just sit and we'll just do our work in Google classroom and you can just be there and other people can do and it'll just be like school cuz we'll all be working side by side and I said of course please come those kids who are needing connections are finding ways to make connections I even have one student who had to go to grandmother's house in Mexico because there was no childcare
018here and mom and I working together with grandma who only speaks Spanish and we have got her she's connected she's coming to all of our classroom meetings and I was glad to know that my teacher look and you need to make a better decision works even all the way to Mexico yeah so she has really been able to be a part of our class and I think it's been helpful to her because she's been down there with no one else she knows that grandma so those are all student connections that have just really really been significant for kids then there's also parent connections our parents are connecting to their kids learning like never before I'm getting pictures of connections that are happening in their homes from the third grader who had never learned to ride
019a bike and the mom says instead of doing the PE stuff you post teacher what if what if he learns to ride a bike I said I think that's a great thing for him to do right now and the little boy who said I'd the science this week teacher but then my grandpa took me outside and taught me all about the Olivera plants and I got a picture of him him and Grandpa together as well as kids working on stuff together younger brother and older brother doing their science experiment together so there are really neat things happening in homes and with parents as well and the last kinds of connections I'm seeing our staff connections truly I'm sure this is true of lots of staffs but I just have to say my Murray staff is
020amazing um people are stepping up to help each other out like you wouldn't believe whenever someone has a question there are five answers even sometimes before we have a group chat going and they'll address a question to somebody specific and before that person can get back to them five other people are saying oh this is how I do it or hey I'll help you out or let's jump on the computer and set up our own meet so we can work on that together and it's just really fantastic to see one great opportunity that I had that I wouldn't have had if it hadn't been for distance learning was the opportunity to hop into someone else's virtual classroom she was talking about a technology tool she was using I saw that it was valuable but I
021wasn't quite sure what it would look like I could have figured it out but instead of having to figure it out I got to go sit in her classroom as a student you know I asked her can I do it just invite me and I and I started way further along then I would have started had I not been able to be in that other teacher's classroom so that's something that's not always easy to do in our brick-and-mortar schools so it's something we're taking advantage of right now when we can and so there are just so many connections that I think are the most important part of what's going on right now I mean it is this easy snow is this the way I want to teach or you know I'm not running out to
022get an online job when all this is over trust me I want to be in my classroom with my kids there are opportunities and I think that we really need to just focus on that there are lots of positive connections happening and I think we need to focus on that and and kids are getting a lot of what they need maybe not everything they would get in my classroom but they're also getting some other things from being home with their parents and so I feel really good about the support we've had and what we've been able to accomplish with distance learning Thank You Janet that is so heartwarming it really I'm sitting here it really tears my eyes just and a little bit of jealousy because I wish I could be in your shoes and
023and see that too and the love that the teachers and students have for each other and the willingness to do whatever it takes to keep those connections strong is what I heard over and over thank you so much you're welcome yes Thank You Janet shoutout to to the your Murray staff thank you so much for being here tonight next i would like to introduce john garcia teacher from center middle school good evening everyone is this working I have never used to hear you just great thanks awesome come on I'm a special ed teacher at Center Middle School I have an unusual class I have 16 mild moderate students 14 of those are boys oh that makes things interesting and I have two young ladies in class any given day can be difficult in the classroom
024but surprisingly going to distant learning 7 weeks ago I was skeptical how well this was going to work and Wow my students stepped up and met that expectation that I had said at the beginning of the school year they knew what they needed to do and they knew what they had to do to get there I have students who were behavioral issues in class come online and be there when class first starts stay until the very end and even come back later and asked for more help it is so nice to see a student go from being a behavior and maybe not doing his work to doing all of his work during a distant learning environment it is awesome on the first day that we had the first block as I teach three different blocks
025because I have five different subjects I teach one of my students came on and said oh wow you're really gonna teach like like like really and like in the classroom you're gonna really be there for us the whole time I'm like yeah we're gonna do this together we're in this together and if you need help with technology just ask either myself or ms titular my instructional aide will help us out we have gone above and beyond with being able to present things being able to get them to do things they've never done before as far as using different technologies and having parents sit with them and little brothers and sisters joining in and you can hear the all the chatter what's that how's this what is that wow she's your teacher and they are just
026loving the connections that are being made between myself and with the other with the family members as far as using technology I myself had to learn how to use different platforms how to gain other ways of presenting the curriculum so that it could help my students to meet their needs because they all have different disabilities but they all need to be met to be met to meet their goals and they are stepping up and it's so exciting to see how well they've done I have greater connections with other staff on campus if I have a question about the curriculum I'm able to go and ask them hey you know how did you teach this or what are you using for this and they're helping me with how to simplify it how to make it easier
027for my students to attain I have a student who has he's dyslexic he struggles quite a lot was able to introduce him to more reading where he was able to read the books online and be able to hear it at the same time he has fallen in love with reading absolutely loves it and it's so sweet to see such a bright light come on and have him go wow so this is what everybody else is reading I'm like that's it that's it everybody's reading the same and now so are you so it's great like I was skeptical seven weeks ago and now I'm going wow these kids are awesome they stepped up to the challenge their parents stepped up to the challenge they asked questions they're better connected with me than ever before it's amazing
028I you know even thinking safer to head to the fall definitely going to put something in where I have a student who better learns and this kind of distant learning platform to be able to use where he's learning on the computer while I'm teaching the rest of the class just for better focus so this was great I figured out what he needed by using this distant learning um thank you for letting me share so many successes it's been amazing wonderful Jan thank you so much for for sharing I was really struck by here the efforts that you put in to increase your own technology skills and because it is scary at first that's Mike my experience is that first it's scary thinking you know I don't know how to do this but you just jumped
029in there right away and reached out to make sure that you could do that and have students comment this is what the other kids are reading this is what everybody else is reading just warm to my heart because it really opens a door for that student to feel part of you know the rest of the kids part of the crowd of Education and you know a member of this community in a very important way thank you so so much Thank You Jan one once again for joining us here today and to go to our third guest tonight I like to introduce Tina from ceará high school welcome you hi everybody I am happy to be here I too am a special education teacher which is wonderful that I get to join in all these Google
030classrooms so I am in a lot of the Google classrooms with my staff and I also have my own classes that I teach so I'm doing a lot of Google classrooms right now but I I just can't say enough of how wonderful things are going but right off the bat I just wanted to recognize you to recognize the first thing that came to mind was I was so grateful that the Chromebooks were able to be handed out and I want to thank everybody who was part of that because I did see the line outside of this high school of cars trying to get in there to get their Chromebooks I know that the district had made many calls because I've communicated with parents ciara staff has made many many calls to make sure that the
031kids had what they needed and I just think I just want to mention the support of the district and the school together really made that happen and I made a world of difference so when they were able to get those Chromebooks the kids were it was more available to them to access the online learning the distant learning but I know at Sierra last week alone our big push has been communication and communicating with the parents and the students and over 250 calls were made last week alone and what we're finding is so many appreciative parents they're very grateful and they're happy to hear from us honestly they're just thinking like thank you for you know reaching out what else can we you know and we're asking is what else can we do is there anything
032you need what can you know for the most part we've gotten really positive feedback from the parents and the students so with that and then I I just wanted to share with because we make so calls so many calls and communicate with the families I had a student or I have a student I should say that was very disengaged in this distant learning wanted no part of it and but because of the communication between our principal and myself and our counselor we came to find out that the student actually recently experienced a death in the family it had nothing to do with the distance learning the whole time we're thinking why is he so disengaged so with that said he's back on track he's doing he's read in the work he is excited about this
033learning he is gonna participate in an AP government test next week and he's really excited about that to try and get some college credits his ap government teacher has been really on board and stepped outside to help him out and get him what he needs to do that and again because I get to communicate with all the teachers and I get a jump in their classrooms and talk to them it's made a world of difference for a lot of my RSP students the other thing I just wanted to mention that it I just think is a bright spot is I've had a student that was doing credit recovery on APICS and he was able to independently do it he made it he finished his class and he is back on track to graduate with this
034class of 2020 which he didn't think he would be able to do it but he was able to do it so I just want to give a little shout out to the apex program I know you know I hear things about it but it's it's it's worked and I'm glad that we have credit recovery another extension of credit recover besides us at Sierra so that was another bright spot I wanted to mention and then but ultimately and just like I heard from your other two teachers the perseverance of our staff and our students has really come alive and I cannot tell you enough that I'm so happy to be part of the team at Zera amazing what and I'm including everyone classified staff administration the teachers everyone has come together to to help make this
035distance learning successful and myself I've been learning more technology more and more technology and but when I have another teacher that is more than willing to help me the teachers welcomed me in their Google classrooms the administration's always been there for us but I do have to give a little shout-out to my special ed aides because they are amazing amazing have stepped up and talked to some of our students that would kind of get unsure that they were going to make it because you know we have juniors and seniors and they just want to graduate I mean that's it and so if it was difficult they were able to you know talk them down get them going and the kids are doing a great job they're really getting on board about participating in this distant
036learning but I think ultimately the phone calls the emails supporting each other this technology we are so united as a team the staff and the students and the parents and I just can't say enough I was I was a little surprised that it is going as well as it is so we are grateful and I just want I know from a high school perspective and sometimes the kids think well I don't need to do this but I know they also have ultimately the goal and that's what we keep talking about what's the goal you want to graduate you want to go to college you want to move on and so we're all in it together and that's really what I want to share thank you thank you so much that the stories and all the
037bright spots that you shared weren't just just really warm to my heart you know and in this time of of kovat 19 I've noticed so many if you look on the news or you read the paper or you hear people talking about all the negative the challenges which are all very very real and it is so important that what you shared and there are other teachers tonight what they shared is the what's working the positives and how you're making differences in kids lives and that this kid who's going to graduate now right or has been open for him and I can't thank you enough for what you do but it is really I really do believe that teachers creates a future and your stories gave them a real powerful example of how you'd created futures
038for these kids thank you okay so now we'll move any comments how many board members or anything no thank you very much for your insight on what's going on in the school school so it's good to hear all the positive things that are going on with the students and the staff and the parent in and the administration and I think you know working together it's made a very good team but what do I need to tell them is short is that I reached 100 miles me short I walked two miles every day just wanted to give you heads up on that thank you all right we'll have metals at the beginning of next year okay board member who is first gate Adrian or Gabriella okay board member Ariana's Hey hi can you guys hear me
039I wanted to thank the three teachers that came out and shared their experience now and the special ed teachers thank you for for the extra mile that you guys you know take for our special education teachers and it's really nice to hear that you found a way to connect to a student that learns best and that you're gonna can't remember if it who I think it was J Miss Jane Garcia that she found that one of her students learns best through through online and being able to get the materials upfront and knowing what to do and to actually visualize it so and I thank you guys for for being there for our students and having those open meeting sessions with them just to come I mean that teared me up when you said but they
040just come and they just want to do their homework with you online that that speaks volume that speaks volume of the greatness and the great energy that you give these students and they just want to be online with you just to do their homework so truly truly appreciate it thank you yeah thank you board member Grier yeah and echoing a lot of that just just grateful for for you well thank you I know that I've been able to hear so many of these types of stories just you know small anecdotes and so and so being able to really take a moment and pause and and hear from you all a bit with a bit more depth and context and deeper understanding and and plus being able to share that out loud and broad like this
041is what you're doing is the important work that is happening and so thank you thank you for for for sharing and thank you for representing just examples of just the tremendous work that that's happening so I'm just grateful for you thank you for you taking the time to be here and sharing that with all of us board member Chris Gonzalez yeah thank you I think I really just want to echo my colleagues and and I would not just and just one this this one piece I think I'm hearing some really amazing nuggets in terms of I would say new new things or new connections that like that maybe we had thought about when it comes to distance learning so for example I'm having you you as teachers talked about how it was this the connection
042is strengthening to the families and so I love that and I and I think so that and I'm trying to think that maybe we need to as we eventually get back to normal schooling in schools um how do we capitalize on those pieces so for example that building that strength the connection with the family in the house and the other piece talking about technology seems to work for some kids right um how can we how can we make sure that we take everything that all of you have learned as teachers because you guys are you guys are doing the work and learning as we go along right and and make sure that strengthens what we do in the future so I just want to appreciate all of you of and say thank you very much
043for sharing okay and um I'd like to piggyback on what everybody else said oh my son opened he's a special ed teacher and he opened the Vogel school of Awesomeness and all of my nieces all my grandchildren join and that's how their parents learned how to do a lot of the technology so all my sons and daughters learned from my oldest son on how to do it in the volkl school so I appreciate the creativity you all are coming up with to get this done and we'll just move on over thank you so much and at this point we'll go over to the ten point Oh consent calendar all matters listed under the consent calendar considered by the board to be routine and will be enacted by the board in one motion in the format
044following the last consent calendar agenda item there will be no discussion of these items prior to the time the board staff or the public requests specific items to be discussed if discussion is requested by a board member that item will be removed from the consent calendar and it will be considered separately the superintendent and staff recommend approval of all consent calendar agenda items so do I have a motion oh board member cruise Gonzalez you need to say something Oh daddy okay do I have a motion I move to approve item 10.1 we have a second okay so moved by board member Grier second if I remember Ariana's is there any discussion okay let's vote Danny passes 5-0 and now we will move on to 12-point o recognitions and awards twelve point one presentation teacher of
045the year 2020 2020 and 2021 good evening everyone I Madam President board members dr. Kaminsky cousin and esteemed guests I have the honor of starting off the formal recognition of all of our teachers on this teacher appreciation day teaching is the profession that all other professions grow from and it is not only fitting that we take the time to honor all of our teachers it is essential that we recognize and celebrate the work and dedication that our teachers exhibit salient teachers have always been essential and given our current situation it's teachers who are working tirelessly to connect through distance learning with our students and in the process our teachers are learning and stretching their professional practice so that they can meet the unique needs of all of our students over the last nine weeks we
046have seen countless faces and images through screens a lot of images have been frightening but many have touched our hearts like human and Escobar the Bassett high school and the Phil she produced and the bright spots we just heard about from our teachers we have also seen images of celebrity elected officials and I'm sure many have seen the faces of friends colleagues and family members there zoom and got my googa leaf before our students the teachers the faces of teachers represents caring learning friendship and a semblance of normalcy and I know that our teachers have been going the extra mile to meet the needs of their students by calling status homes by learning how to use digital tool and by converting spaces in their homes into whiteboards and focus walls I've seen some of these
047myself when meeting with teachers to Google meet our 2018-2019 district Teacher of the Year Kathy Hendrix had one of my favorite quote from Mahatma Gandhi need the change you want to see in the world it was on a poster in her home clearly evidence of the lesson that she had recently taught to our students I was also I was also brought to laughter from a story from a story from a teacher when she described how some of her students have asked her to stay after class that they could review with her how to use Google needs that was a little bit was actually really fun really funny story a lot has truly changed in a short period of time but one thing we don't want to change the event where we get to recognize all
048of our teachers of the year this is a special event and through the creativity of our Sousa administrators we've been able to recreate our individual tribute to each science teacher of the year while nothing can replace being together and recognizing our teachers together in one physical space I hope this video gives us tonight on this special night a sense of normalcy I want to congratulate our teachers thank you and happy teacher appreciation day I'm about to share the video and I want to thank our teachers I'm sorry our administrators who helped put this together sit back and enjoy hi everyone my name is Linda McNary and I'm the director of the Aziza Adult Education Center I am so pleased to present to you mrs. Naveen Ibrahim he's been selected as our Teacher of the Year
049Naveen is a highly committed professional who teaches in our medical pathway program specifically she teaches in our health unit front office secretary and medical coding and billing programs Naveen students described her as the best teacher that they have ever had and that she generally cares about their success the classes that Naveen teaches are very technical and in her class students are always highly engaged and continually challenged as they learn about complex medical conditions health care legalities doctor's orders medical terminology body structures and medical coding Naveen has a strong background in the medical field and continuously strives to bring real-world applications to her students thank you and please join me in congratulating mrs. Naveen Ibrahim as the azusa adult education centers teacher Ebina Contreras principal of Center middle school here to proudly introduce our teacher of
050the year mr. David Louie binos David has brought a professional and distinguished career to a USD for 32 years he was at center when they were still Cavaliers yes that long ago name changes haven't stopped him he continues to bring passion for a subject but more importantly a genuine love of kids and respect that is reciprocated by both students and he is currently slated to be summer school principal and is our PBIS chairperson colleagues note mr. Liu ever notes continually advocates for services that support our most vulnerable populations family friends students and staff all could break out into song sing in the accolades of mr. Liu Ava knows with pleasure the center middle school community presents teacher of the year mr. David blue emails Laura Clark principal of Dalton school our teacher of the year
051is Greg Cahill creating a tribute for someone as admired appreciated and essential as Craig is so tough how can one capture the essence of a teacher who is practically perfect Craig provides intervention for students his skill knowledge attention patience preparation and differentiation for those most in need is amazing he puts students first which can also be seen through his work across campus including supervision discipline special events PBIS leadership team and in his support of grade level PLC's attention to detail dedication to his work and a high level of organization has earned Greg a reputation for impeccable accuracy he makes sure that everyone has what they need the most impressive part is that he accomplishes all this with a positive attitude and a willingness to do more Greg is the glue that keeps us together at
052Dalton he notices when we need help even before we do his caring and thoughtful nature has also been critical in times of personal need when a staff member has a struggle or when someone has a cause for celebration Greg can always be relied upon for making them feel special congratulations mr. Cahill you truly deserve this honor my name is dr. riskiness and I am the proud principal of Ellington's most amazing 80 K through 8 I have the very proud moment here to celebrate Ellington's Teacher of the Year mrs. Stacey Kirino this is where you can cheer at home let me take you on a little journey about Stacey curry now there's many things that I can say about Stacey but for today I will focus on only two quick ones first and foremost she's a
053lifelong learner Stacey's a career surgery models for our students daily that it's never too late to learn something new secondly Stacy's favorite characteristic of mine is she really wants to make a difference for all of her kids and knows that she needs to hold all kids accountable she believes that all kids no matter their background should be challenged and there's no reason to believe that some kids can't do anything lastly one thing I should mention about stacy is her partner in crime Ellington lost the teacher this year Oh mrs. amass well she wasn't just any teacher to any of us but she was particularly Stacey's grade-level partner after her passing she took on multiple responsibilities and not unnoticeably thank you so much to Stacey Kirino I can't imagine what you experience and then kuben happened
054so kudos to you for quite the year safety I want to congratulate you for all that you do you're an amazingly strong always learning caring teacher and I'm honored to be your principal it's been a pleasure to learn alongside you please help me in celebrating Ellington's 2019 2020 Teacher of the Year this is Stacey Corino congratulations what do you mean my name is Sanford mo and I'm the proud principal of Foothill middle school it gives me great pleasure to briefly highlight FMS is Teacher of the Year Susie Santana's illustrious 39 year teaching career I have known Susie for 27 years with 11 of those years having the privilege of working with her at Foothill middle schools both a teacher and administrator during that time I observed outstanding pedagogical practices caring for the students by staying
055after school to assist them involved in extracurricular activities valuing her colleagues and maintaining the utmost professionalism as we all know these are things that any Teacher of the Year in our district County state and country should be displaying of course Susie does all of this just as well if not better moreover I personally would aspire to have the teaching career Susie has exhibited more specifically this being Susie's last year of her wonderful 39th year of teaching she has the exact same enthusiasm and motivation for teaching as you did in her first year of teaching you don't see this very much towards the ends of any teaching career Susie you will be tremendously missed by our students parents and community we love you Susie on behalf of the Gladstone administration faculty and staff we salute you
056mr. Modell's Godstone teacher of the year 2020 good job sir Gladstone's Teacher of the Year Tim Medeiros was a great guy he is our department chair and he really listens to us he's done a great job this year he is a girls varsity soccer coach he is really involved the avid program he really advocates for the students who listens to them really deserving at the Teacher of the Year award Tim as our girls varsity soccer coach he shows great character on and off the field he has respect of his players opposing coaches and officials regulations ami can be Teacher of the Year deserve this the impact you have on Sue's in and outside the classroom everyone good evening I'm Victoria Velasquez principal of Victor Hodge and we are here to honor our Teacher of the
057Year Kathy Diaz Kathy Diaz is a teacher who celebrates learning as much as she celebrates her learners she's been actively involved in all learning initiatives including part of the math leadership ela leadership and I am science initiatives she's engaged in peer coaching and peer support and she's also a key parent educator who welcomes the community in and shares her passion for learning with our families college to career ready of course that is her path everything from connecting students to technology to connecting with her students in ways that are warm witty and wonderful she's always available to celebrate their learning and their successes to know them better to be a part of community events and to bring the community to us she's a proud Hodge cougar whom her colleagues left she's our very own Wonder Woman
058and we celebrate our Teacher of the Year please honor Kathy Diaz I am very on Aurora's principal of charles HD elementary school it is with great pleasure that I present mrs. Lauren Ayala as our Teacher of the Year since the first day that mrs. ella stepped onto our campus as RRSP teacher she made a great impression with our school community by her friendly compassionate demeanor and her stiletto heels which by the way she soon learned the neat exchange feels pretty heels for a pair of tennis shoes mrs. IL exemplifies all the characteristics of an outstanding teacher hard-working carrying personable collaborative and professional mrs. Ayala is admired and respected for her dedication and passion for learning and teaching her colleagues describe her as someone who goes above and beyond the call of duty for all students
059and staff if she sees a student that needs help she offers her support and does everything she can to help them academically socially and emotionally she aspires our students to believe in themselves with her positivity and encouraging words along with being an excellent teacher mrs. Ayala serves on our schools student study team and is always a great advocate for students and their families she also supports our PTA events by helping in any way she can we are truly fortunate to have mrs. Lauren Ayala as part of our team at Lee and we are very proud to honor her as our Teacher of the Year for 2019 2020 good evening Leslie Ford and Jenny Lee directors of the early childhood education programs would like to honor longfellows Teacher of the Year Yi Annette Cardenas mrs. Cardenas
060has taught six years in Azusa due to her extraordinary success with the DonorsChoose program miss Cardenas is able to provide an incredible learning experience in a unique environment so now please close your eyes hold your breath make a wish count to three and experience the magic of mrs. Cardenas preschool classroom upon entering you since in a warm embrace your spirit calms the children's smile and suddenly you feel three years old again experiencing the wonder of miss carton assists magical instruction all your senses become engaged as happiness emergencies and understanding Dawn's and you realize that this is a classroom wheels of pure imagination evening this is Marcela Fonseca principal of the wild mustangs at Magnolia elementary school and I am honored to present ana frescas Chun as our Teacher of the Year mrs. Chung is our
061wild resource teacher and she takes great pride in her role serving the Magnolia Mustangs there is no limit to what Ana will do to support students families and staff whether as Cat in the Hat on the playground in the classroom or in the parent Center she inspires everyone through her leadership she has a passion for learning that shines through her smile and innovative ideas she is a force of positivity and a most valued member of our wild community in addition to being an exemplary educator ana is a wife and mom of two wonderful boys we are so thankful they share Ana with us she has an amazing heart for the Magnolia mustangs and we love her just as much Thank You Ana for all you do my name is Jeanette Flores and I'm the proud
062principal of Marie Elementary and it is my absolute pleasure to introduce to you Marie's Teacher of the Year mrs. Janet short when I think of school spirit Janet quickly comes to mind she is always one of the first to volunteer to be a part of any activity that involves the students she was one of the first teachers to bring the very popular and very successful hundred mile club to Marie Janice thought that by bringing the hundred mile club students would have the opportunity to work on their physical fitness and parents would have a purpose at school Janet is an active learner and dedicated teacher when I'm looking for someone to coach the track team teach Saturday school be a part of our after-school tutoring or participate in an obstacle course during an assembly or play
063a role in the toolkit I know I can always count on Janet to be the first volunteer I know that Janet has the love and dedication both to our school and our students to always be willing to go above and beyond she is professional and cares about the students janet is well respected by all the members of the staff and we are proud to call her our Teacher of the Year evening everyone my name is Antonio Flores principal of Paramount elementary and it is an honor to introduce Paramount's Teacher of the Year nancy de Lappe nancy has been an educator for 30 years in those thirty years Nancy has touched the lives of roughly eight hundred students since meeting Nancy it has been evident she consistently demonstrates enthusiasm for educating her students she goes above
064and beyond on many levels as she works with our students and parents and contributes to the community at large her energy is contagious and everyone responds positively to her efforts both inside and outside the classroom she is a role model for everyone and always has time to lend a hand to help someone in need she is an outstanding teacher who uses fantastic teaching strategies to support her students she creates a wonderful learning environment in the classroom which incorporates standards as well as student creativity students feel respected cared for motivated excited challenged and our to share and participate in lessons and discussions as they learn and grow as a cohesive genuine community of learners parents are very supportive and appreciative of our hard work and the passion she demonstrates for students Nancy you are much deserving
065of the recognition of Teacher of the Year for the 2019 2020 school year Thank You Nancy for all your years of hard work and dedication enjoy your return Jenny maybe principal Powell and I am proud to present Cesar Gouveia as Powell's Teacher of the Year as you can see thing five here is our awesome fifth grade teacher so I thought I'd share five things that we love about mr. Govan number one Cesar is a top-notch professional highly engaging teacher in his class students are thinking critically and collaborating together as they act dance and sing their way through lessons number two mr. Gouveia is our art coach training staff and art integration and directing our fabulous annual school-wide musicals number three Cesar is the kind of colleague you want to work with always willing to help
066bringing energy dedication and lots of laughs to our work days number four as one parent put it he is the perfect combination of work his classroom was focused and rigorous and he is soaked at the 5th grade water play day he is boogying at the disco dance party and here he is at the jump rope celebration you see what I mean number five Caesar is passionate about seeing his students succeed and he does everything in his power to help them reach their potential he grew up in Azusa and is an inspiration and role model here he is with his beautiful wife Sasha and his little princess for us here at Powell he is truly the king of fifth grade congratulations mr. Gouveia as coordinator of special education it is my pleasure to introduce the SIRT
067Teacher of the Year and Madrigal the dream begins most of the time with the teacher who believes in you who tugs and pushes you and lead you to that next Plateau sometimes poking you with a sharp stick all true and exemplifies the energy excitement and expertise that is required for successful teaching as teacher of the visually impaired and provides support and instruction and guidance as students gain independence [Music] and is always there to provide leadership knowledge and enthusiasm and that develops certain teacher of the year good evening my name is Paul Hernandez principal of Sierra High School and it is with great pleasure that I introduced mr. Kevin Knight as Sierra High School's Teacher of the Year tonight's impact on Sierra has been both immediate and profound mr. Knight routinely goes beyond the curriculum and
068systematically incorporates real-world examples for students to apply their learning mr. Knight is well respected by all of Sierra stakeholders and continually looks for innovative ways to engage students he has sponsored an after-school Club the member in multiple staff committees but the coach to every sport at Sierra this year and provides valuable input questions mr. Knight and thank you for everything oh I am Ivette Walker principal of sauce a middle school and I am proud to present miss Jade cava SIA as this year's Teacher of the Year what an honor it is to have Jade as part of our Slauson family she is carrying hardworking and shares her love for music with her students Jade is always willing to work collaboratively with her colleagues often contributing in a positive and helpful way Jade puts a great
069deal of time and effort into all of her lessons as well as her evening performances students are always excited and look forward to their time in class Jade builds confidence and knows just the right balance to keep her students focused and continually encourages them her performance are always such a pleasure to attend Jade you have been born with a gift and a talent for music so thank you for sharing that gift with our students you have a front row seat to the future and I want to thank you for building that future one child at a time congratulations to miss Jade Clovis iya slauson's Teacher of the Year [Music] good evening my name is Adrianna Garcia madina province Apple Valley Dale Elementary and it is my honor to recognize miss Dianna fog as Valley Del's
070Teacher of the Year miss Dianna fog is an amazing teacher who's passionate about kids their learning and their success miss fog teaches with a sense of purpose sets high expectations for learning and truly makes learning fun you'll often see her collecting artifacts wearing costumes or thinking outside of the box to make her lessons come to life she will stop at nothing to help students make connections she's not afraid of challenges and is willing to become a learner she's taken on the challenge of distance learning with the most positive attitude and determination to make learning happen for all students a key to her success is her ability to build supportive and long-lasting relationships with both students and families we're lucky to have MS foggy as the kids lovingly call her and for that we are grateful
071congratulations to Valley Dells Teacher of the Year miss Dianna Fogg commitment dedication awesome integrity lifelong learner positive team player advocate high character these are only a few words that explain why miss Maria Sims is a High School Teacher of the Year Isaiah is extremely fortunate to have her support our Aztec scholars our tenacity for reaching all students persistence will - getting to know her students and the instructional strengths that she brings to her class every single period every single day are the reasons why she has a Sousa High School's Teacher of the Year she stimulates student curiosity to improve learning and she creates a positive climate in the classroom where all students feel safe and encouraged to become active participants and critical thinkers an astok Scholar stated miss Sims is my role model another said
072thank you for making me feel like I am somebody these are only a few examples of what makes our Teacher of the Year so excellent not only is she a great teacher she is also a role model and mentor for our a sticks congratulations and miss Sims and the special thanks to her husband Damon and three children athlete Diego and Mia Watson astok always nastic [Music] thank you for thank you for viewing that with me I am just moved every time I see a wonderful wonderful video that we were able to put together so without further ado I have the distinct honor of announcing our 2019 2020 district Teacher of the Year our teacher recently shared with the selection committee her sincere and unshakeable passion for students and the Asuza Unified School District community desk
073taught at both the elementary and high school levels she is the true gem and we are very proud and excited to announce that Maria Sims from Azusa High School is our 2019 2020 district Teacher of the Year congratulations mrs. Sims and now I'd like to invite mr. or dr. Gomez to say a couple words so the video said a lot of the words first off a good evening team thank you for everything that you do but yeah the video said a lot of what we thought about missus since some of the things that we had to cut out because of the time we're basically just we really wanted to go more into her passion the fact that she she meets the needs of all students she's there late she's there early she gives up her
074lunches on Sat during Saturday school she's one of the teachers and has over 80 kids so she says hey can I use the camera can I use the cafeteria instead of that instead of her classroom because the kids want to be there the kids love learning from her and and she's just super passionate super dedicated and I think the fact that she was an elementary school teacher before moving up to the high school level and she really focuses on the basics it's what's made of the teacher that she is so just super excited and super proud to work with a teacher like Miss Sims and really so much more to say but I I know that she she she wants to share a little bit about her story but again congratulations miss Sims and a
075unified I'm confident that even though all the teachers were great and miss Sims definitely stands stands tall and she did a great job so thank you thank you dr. Gomez I would not now like to invite mrs. Sims to say a couple words you hello Madame president Bibles bogel board member superintendent Kaminsky in cabinet thank you for this opportunity to speak today congratulations to all the teachers of the year I came across this definition of a teacher teacher a multitasking educational rockstar who lives to inspire and loves to encourage they're kind of a big deal and yes you are it is an honor to be recognized among you I am truly humbled I want to say thank you to the admin team for leading by example to the elementary and math teams to plan with
076me selflessly sharing our ideas and patiently helping the technology you helped me continue to grow and I am forever grateful to you as Robert John Meehan said the most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives teachers attitudes of Iraq and thank you to my husband Damon for your love and support and to my children for allowing me to use you as guinea pigs when trying out new lessons I love you I would like to take a moment to tell you about my journey to become a teacher starting with my background I am an immigrant at one time both my parents worked at the migrant farmworkers my mother attended school up to the second grade and my father to the fourth my dad always
077boasts that he beat my mom because he has two more years of education my parents do not have college degrees or high school diploma but they taught my siblings and I the value of hard work gave us our unconditional support and showed us the importance of being kind to others that's yes my mind Papa si se puede to all the parents I won say you are your child's first teacher and they will learn so much from you continue to be involved support and love them every day and we are here for you when I was a student in Mullen Park School District I had some amazing teachers that never gave up on me no matter how behind I was in English when I made the decision to become my teacher I knew that I wanted
078to be an amazing teacher like that for my kids and I'm still working on it for those of you that don't know I began my teaching career in elementary shout-out to my Maryam Valley del peeps I loved working with you Elementary had his challenges Elementary had his challenges but it was so fun students like their teachers they like you before they even know you they are easier to motivate and most of them like school in elementary we were reading good books writing class books loving math and playing dodgeball at recess when I was just feeling like I could be an amazing teacher I got ripped due to record declining enrollment I really wanted to come back to teaching and I really wanted to come back to a Sousa as soon as the students are very
079special I tried the high school math row I went back to school and how to take math tests and pass math tests I really struggled with the amount of worked involved while working a full time job but then I thought about my children and my students and what I would say to them in a similar situation to my children and students when you come to a difficult situation remember dr. Seuss's words you have brains in your head you have feet in your shoes you can steer yourself in any direction you choose so I became a high school math teacher I went from rock star in elementary to a math teacher in high school it was the first time I had students tell me no I was again and current gently pushed my my students to
080go back to school and take a classroom management class for high school and then more math classes so that I can help them while high school is demanding in different ways it is also so rewarding to watch students understand and apply the quadratic formula completing the square and other complex math concepts it is so inspiring to see them come in during lunch just to work on that our students are amazing students I want you to know that you motivate me and inspire me to be a better person a better teacher and to make challenging decisions thank you as teachers I know we have high expectations and provide support and opportunities for our students to reach those high expectations what I am continuing to learn is that for some students their immediate needs will take presidents
081learning objectives and then empathy and kindness will go a long way always with all students there was a student I had a few years back that would come into class and put his head down and it seemed like you wanted to join but then he didn't and sometimes he would say hi and sometimes he didn't eventually he began to put his head up and then answer some questions and then some more it was still touch-and-go but we ended the year in a much better place a couple of years ago he wrote me a letter and I want to share part of that with you he says thank you for never giving up on me no matter how stubborn I was and thank you for always believing in me I hope you know the little things
082you do for people make a big difference I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but I have options I love that teachers it's the little things that you do every day in this time of uncertainty teachers you are working hard and learning technology with a ptosis health and our admin and everyone in our school like a never before Google classroom Google me edpuzzle Lu sketchpad J M Ward the list goes on you are finding creative ways to connect with students keeping them learning giving them hope teachers this poem is for you thanks for all that you do for making a million little split-second decisions for the benefit of your students for putting your own needs on hold in keeping them and keeping them the focus of your day for planning for them long
083before today ever got rolling for changing those plans because they didn't fit someone who needed a little extra for smiling laughing with them and measuring their efforts trials and mistakes and reassuring their efforts trials and mistakes for placing your hand on a shoulder that was exactly what someone needed for getting down on the physical level of your students because it matters for thinking of a new way to reach someone who wasn't getting it you matter yes you matter unknown you guys are superheroes teachers you make a difference every day don't ever forget how awesome you are and how much you matter to your students thank you okay everybody take your mute off and let's apply oh thank you so much before Melissa comes up Korea which easy mrs. gracias por todo thank you so much
084for all you've done and I don't think thank you hey miss Simms you said you were a superstar Elementary you're still a superstar the congratulations board members would you like to have input board member kruseman's on us sure that was I'm that was very I'm touching and heartfelt and just thank you thank you for your dedication to our students board member Rodriguez Pena yes I wanted to thank congratulate all the teachers that receive the Teacher of the Year awards in this hard times doing district distant learning and I do appreciate the hard work and dedication but I kind of like that the way we get a day with the videos because you know we actually seen what they did we always hear what they're doing when we're having to assembly or the ceremony but I
085like I like to see them at their school siting and what they're doing in their school site and it is it's very touching touching seeing them interact with their students and interact with their parents and their peers but um Maria yeah I want to congratulate you that was beautiful yeah very helpful and I know that all the teachers in a USB I hear and I see the passion so I really I really like this video on it and I think they don't want to congratulate you for being the district Teacher of the Year 2019 2020 congratulations board member group yeah first just congratulations to all the incredible teachers and yet as board member Rodriguez painter said beautiful to see them all in there and the element doing doing the things that that they do so
086well mr. Sims this is I'm absolutely beautiful I'm absolutely moved thank you for being a tremendous example of tenacity and passion and determination the the just a kind of example to think that the the young people have have had you had you as an example to look to and to look at their own goals and their own hopes and their own G dreams and see that that it's possible to get there regardless of the different hoops and obstacles that will inevitably you know come come before them just thank you for for the life that you live the way that you live it in front of the young people here in this district and in this community just thank you so much miss Maria Sims I want to congratulate you for an outstanding job staying during
087lunch and for you just to make yourself available outside your hour times really speaks volume of who you are it it makes me very happy to see you as Teacher of the Year and when you shared the about your parents go to first grade and or second grade and fourth grade it really touched me because you know look at you you have definitely lived the dreams that your parents wanted you to drink to dream here and to actually take action here by coming from Mexico that's amazing it's amazing that connection you have with your students and you know it just takes a connection to that student who's putting their head down to engage them for them to participate out of their shell and it takes one teacher to believe in them one teacher for them
088to be able to just love education so I thank you for your extra time for who you are and your contribution to this district and we're very lucky to have you thank you thank you and I'd like to just top off everybody and say what a wonderful job in your poem was beautiful and it means so much to everybody because I agree with you you all don't get the qudoos you deserve for everything that you do and all the little things that you do for all of our students I was one of those students that would occasionally put their head down and it did take a good teacher and it made a difference so I'm tearing up here so thank you very much for all you do for us in our students and all of
089the teachers that were shown us tonight and just thank you it's times like if I make my face search okay well thank you and anybody Madam President I have one more person that wants to recognize our district Teacher of the Year Melissa Alcantar is a partner with the foothill credit union when i'm the relationship that the district has with the foothill credit union and miss akhantar is here ready to present Miss Smith sympathy with something special so I'm again hello hear me sorry this is my first income yes thank you so much for allowing me to be part of this celebration I just I'm happy to be here on behalf of foothill credit union and especially at a time like this to be able just to show support and spread some joy around we definitely
090want to be there for the community and for our school districts and their employees so on behalf of Foothill I am happy to show some support and present our $100 check for the Azusa Teacher of the Year myth Sims and recognition of your excellence in the classroom so I have your contact information so I'll be reaching out to you to see how you would like your cheque delivered but congratulations and just thank you for everything that you're doing keep up the good work thank you thank you so much Melissa we really appreciate your support over the years it makes it touches our heart thank you mm-hmm yes thank you okay any more comments from anybody y'all did a great job by the way this actually went by happened very well Oh dr. Gomez is no
091longer with us I wanted to just add one thing that I forgot to say I agree with my colleague board member Yolanda Rodriguez Pena that the video added an extra touch to see them in action in their classroom with the parents and what they do so I really like that this year that we were able to see all that so thank you for whoever put it together as most things it was a team effort they started off with an idea and then the principals and their assistant principals and staff really did the hard work I do have to give them a shout-out because some of them were stretched in ways that didn't know I mean dude had learned how to create a video and just has wonderful educators do they want to put forward their
092best or our very best and then it was Lika and Sam that helped string it all together and put it in the format that we were able to be today so like I said it was a team effort wonderful wonderful way to celebrate our teachers through this distance remote work or learning work Thank You principal we said that we're all learning something new and this is new and we like it you know we like what they're doing in and I appreciate the principles you know if the teachers have to learn something new where you need to learn something new and the principals have to learn something new so we're all in the same village right so I like that yeah hopefully we can do that all the time I don't know I and I received
093tons of text messages do your speech so the entire staff is in tears shout out to the Aztec staff a happy teacher appreciation day a happy Cinco de Mayo uh happy as staff appreciation week oh great job and again district and team thank you for all that you do members you guys Rock and another shot Smith Sims yeah see the mama since so it's 8:25 and enlisted me but he has anything else to say they'll call it is adjournment good thank you this has been the shortest one thank you guys for everything again cards yes thank you enjoy the rest of your week