001thank you madam president members of the board superintendent Kaminski and members of superintendent's cabinet student board representative students fellow employees and guests welcome this is an exciting night each year it is my privilege to oversee the selection process for the classified employee of the year from each of the school sites and the from the various departments in the district as well as the classified employee of the year for the entire district unbelievable interviews I cannot do that it is a process that includes the nomination and selection of classified employees at each of the school sites as well as various other locations and/or departments such as the district office our maintenance room and nutrition services once the selections are made at each of these schools and locations then each of the nominees is interviewed by the
002classified Employee of the Year selection committee and the final choice is made to represent the entire district I'd like to identify the names of the people who served on the selection committee this year it is a real challenge to be on that committee because it's like you have this great problem right selecting someone to represent the district from all these great candidates Norma Camacho was our principles representative norm I know you're here because you're gonna be presenting our classified grounds supervisor robson moura was on the committee last year's recipient serves on the current year's selection and last year's recipient of the district employee of the year was Jessica Silva [Applause] serves on the committee plans as from the district office a secretary one her name is lisa allen and then of course myself so it
003is a great process care all these exciting things that are happening in the district and the community so it's a wonderful day that we get to do those interviews tough choice but it's very rewarding in our society we like we often like to talk about what is the best of something if you're like my family you have this what is the best discussion right after you finish the conversation of what you're gonna do if you win the lottery what is the best of something if you want to engage in some spirited conversation just throw some of these vests out there for discussion and so you have permission to talk about it when I throw out what the topic is but no arguing please keep it up keep it down well for example the best movie
004of all time what would that be in your mind that's the book of all time the best place to live okay if Zeus is gonna probably rule it out the best state in the United States well gosh it better than California right the best actor or actress of all time this one like constant discussion the best president that's more the best car of all time I might say like a Beatle because that was my first car this one spirited the best cellphone are you an apple or are you a droid there's a lot of discussion then the best type of dinner a lot of discussion on that the best sport and the best team okay there's not much to be it's baseball that's the Dodgers and then we take it one step further as we're
005having these discussion of what is best we want the proof or the data that proves our position we want the backup for what is the best we use terms like and do things like likes how many lights does that get that proves our point right how many hits did something get on the website what are the boats what are the raids what are the sales to support our best position we have a lot of words and phrases that talk about how we support our vests for example we've back something we get behind it we speak up for it we endorse it we promote it we align with it we sympathize with it we agree with it we have for it we associate ourselves with it we're headed to it we rally behind it we root
006for it we carry the torch for it we stand for it sponsor it stand up and be counted for it we throw our weight behind it and we vow for it and there could be many other phrases that I left out let's look at some of the examples that support that provide the data that support the best here's one for you does the accumulated wealth of ninety point two billion with a be proof that Bill Gates is the best computer entrepreneur you decide does a population of thirty nine point five approaching forty million and the sixth largest economy in the world prove that California is the best state you know you line that six best economy in this and then you talk about the funding that we talked about early games at once and thought
007as a pencil resolutions thank you for does 192 million dollars in ticket sales for cocoa prove that it was the best animated film last year I'm sure the kids would waiting on that one right I saw it together this is gonna bounce more thumbs up I agree with you I went to see it too and I love them or maybe does one a five hundred and seventy three million in ticket sales for the last gen I prove that it was the overall best movie there are there any Star Wars people out there yeah so you decide do six world titles darn almost seven prove the doctors are the best baseball team we miss it by the bat much right next year tonight I'm ready to announce a best forty and I can prove it to
008okay I'm gonna have the data supporter here is the best the Azusa Unified School District classified employees are the best there and so you remember all those terms that I listed demonstrate our support I would say all of those I'm 100 percent behind those in relation to our classified personnel in this district so let's move on to the second part how do we measure the value for our classified employees this is where it will be challenging not because the evidence is not there but because it's too hard to count it imagine keeping track of the number of situations that our classified employees positively impact our students on a daily basis if you can't count it it's it's too hard to count it's too hard to quantify all the conversations all the listening ears all the
009guidance and instruction all the dedication and pride all the emotional support all the encouragement and I can go along with all the things our classified employees do we hit to hear some of those in those interviews that's why it's so inspirational I wish we had a giant tally board somewhere to record all the instances when classified employees demonstrate their value but unfortunately we don't have that would it be great to happen somewhere like at the district office this giant board that just tallied it would be reading all the time changing with every time a classified employee assists our students so what is the best way to sum it all up the value mark five employees let me go let me try it they aren't the best because they care for our students and make a
010difference in their lives every single day congratulations classified personnel [Applause] before we start recognizing each of the science recipients before we recognize those folks I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge a very special classified employee whose leadership for the past several years has been very instrumental to the success of the district's classified personnel this person is passionate about education kamme and does hold the line when it's necessary and yet always is reasonable and looking for solutions may be the best way to characterize this person is to tell you four things that I know are very dear to her number one Disneyland number two the Dodgers can't go wrong with those two but it's even better the third thing that is so so important to this person is the Azusa unified school district and the
011fourth thing is our family now how can you beat that right that's a that's a great combination of things that are dear to her heart many of you a large figure out who I'm talking about Francis please everybody figured it out like Francis Francis has been our CSEA Association president for the past several years she's decided to offer that bowl to somebody else she saw him work for us as an instructional aide at this very school and so we're happy that she's still gonna stay employed by us and impacting children on a daily basis but she is stepping down that does that out of that role ICSD incredible thank you we appreciate so much [Applause] [Music] so moving on some procedural things first of all I'd like to thank Glasgow Street can thank you for
012hosting this full board awesome job I thought about seeing all of my comments for a second here I'd like to thank Glasgow Street and I we have a representative from for low credit union tonight who will be making the offering something towards our district employee of the year so thank you for your partnership we really appreciate that so principal you know the procedure the on-deck circle square is right over there we're going to go according to this list please when you're the next up be waiting in the in the on-deck circle and then we'll move forward there will be comments by the principal then I think there's a photo up yes the board will be handing out a certificate and there's a photo up and then you guys would sit down oh thank you CSEA
013has a gift to give you recipients and then you will make your way to sit back down and then the next will come up we will be skipping Murray School in our list no big surprise there that's our district of the year who know best so Linda principal veterinary come on up please [Applause] who do you think my name is Linda McNary he is an Adult School is very proud to be honoring mr. Adam Rocha as our classified employee of the year and he's joined tonight by his wonderful family who is too many are standing in the back wait to us okay and he's joined here by his family members Adam joined this staff at the Azusa Adult School a little over a year ago as our custodian on the day shift where he plays
014an integral part in ensuring that our school functions efficiently for both our day and evening students and staff one of Alan's significant contributions to our school over here has been his ability to organize our custodial supplies which is resulted in ensuring optimal use and placing stronger controls to meet our budgetary allocations for much of this school year we have had a variety of substitute custodians on our evening shift and Adam can always be counted on to be certain that each new substitute understands the responsibilities of the evening position I spoke to a few of our staff members to hear some of their feedback about Adam they shared that since Adam joined our staff the campus has transformed into a brighter and cleaner campus many of our staff members have come in commented about how friendly
015and helpful he is to them and how he's always willing to assist them with whatever is needed and one teacher in particular said Adams cheerful and kind personality are like sunshine to us in addition to his work in our district out of volunteers this time in the community assisting with food with community food distribution events and working with some of the elderly members of our community he also shared that he is hoping to take some post-secondary courses to further his education and growth within the district as a person Adam exudes a genuinely positive attitude and is always willing to assist in support and any way that is needed he works diligently to ensure our students and staff are provided with a clean and safe environment we are so fortunate at Adam as a part of
016our team at the Azusa Adult School please join me in congratulating him as our classified [Applause] [Music] [Applause] I'm gonna I'm gonna read this first one classified Employee of the Year thesis Unified School District one of Education congratulate and commend Adam Rocha for his contribution to the students at the Azusa Adult Education Center during the 2017-2018 school year and presents us recognition as a token of appreciation for his dedication to the district presented the 16th day of January 2018 signed dr. Linda commences superintendent and haven't had a meal court president and it's going to say one other thing because it's not it is it's sort of a special day because I get to introduce somebody whose dad you know right next to my mother [Applause] so good evening as a residence I want to congratulate
017the best classified staff member for this year and I get confused when I say Isuzu animal if we're talking about the high schooler or the district or so I'm gonna say is that you guys figure it out but with regards to her family uh Nora brought longtime family members miss Peggy Rory mr. Sousa mr. Velasco and she also brought two former principals issue she she brought this week Mary mr. wycott she brought I'm mr. mom Rito she also bought several of mining like the birthday young lady miss Kathy and anybody else that has anything to do with Azula high school I can guarantee you that you have had you've worked with Lawren and you do know how much of a positive presence that she is on campus I'm gonna read something that was written about
018her so laura has worked in the in the unified school district for the last 22 years six years at Murray high school every single person who has had the privilege of an honor to work with her on a daily basis has been blessed has been blessed with her personality and oneness to serve no matter the test I can see her at the best serving our students with a smile and a result was each one in their request she does this with the sincere smile normally needs a positive energy to our kids as they leave our guidance office of course all of this is being done with the phone's ringing and everything else that she has to do I have not heard one negative comment from her from her regarding our students regarding our parents when
019she's doing all of these things all at once she is one of a kind truly one of a kind she works with so many administrators teachers and our counselors Laura provides the data an assistant for all employees to be effective and ready to teach our students at every level of learning whenever a stress of ammonia parent or student walks in and he's some assistance and receives such service Laura they always walk out with a smile of satisfaction having the request heard and taken care of it Laura's enthusiasm and commitment to our staff is shown by her daily interaction without winter office she is kind courteous and generous not always but most of the time she is nice she's an excellent cook and Baker and has known to make the most delicious birthday cakes to celebrate
020the birthday of a colleague she is creative and enjoys decorating our office to celebrate various holidays through the year Laura is also the proud mother of to us as a state graduates and during her squeeze she actively supported them in band and drama productions in an image into their academic pursuits she loves pointing her two granddaughters and enjoys spending her free time with them so once again I want to give a big [Applause] could you in every way in his book start teachers of children professor of Education Mart Lieberman said life's greatest gift is the opportunity to throw himself into a job that you know because it puts meaning and hope in the lives of other people Artie Morales has been a star remember of these as a community for the last thirty years and
021a star employee of these the Unified School District she has some of her beloved family members here with her tonight she's accompanied by her parents Rudy and Yolanda Aveda you can see her son Louie jr. and his girlfriend Breanna who she refers to as birth joy to have around her son Daniel and his girlfriend Angie who she refers to as her sunshine to have around her son is Nikhil who is currently a ninth grade student at Azusa high school and her Daniel jr. aka DJ her grandson who she refers to as the love of her world now a little bit of fact about irony is that she is a star organizer she doesn't like to organize closets and kitchen cupboards she likes to organize parties family reunions and get-togethers in fact she shared with me
022that this past Christmas she planned a tamale party to the last three days they made 75 pounds a month which turn each in about 650 tamales I guess it all of your family friends ate all those tamales by New Year's Eve but what I would really like you to know about our need is that she is a star instructional aide at Center middle school she's an excellent role model to the students and staff she interacts with every day she has a strong commitment and takes a personal interest in every student she / the swing as a special education instructional Amy she has worked with almost every teacher at Center middle school she also works in our after-school homework club where she tutors children from six to eighth grade and she's a member of presenter in
023her school's parent education training team Arlene is a resourceful individual who is also responsible and self-motivated she will frequently take the initiative and as his teachers instructional aids office bath anyone in any task and her friendly disposition and her kind and positive demeanor make her a pleasant co-worker and colleague Arlene has shared with me that she absolutely loves love's loves her job she loves coming to work she loves coming to help the staff the parents and especially the students and she is absolutely definitely without a doubt loves and nothing gives her more happiness than when a student she's working with gets a big smile on their face because they got it they understood thank you running for being a star instructional aide it is your commitment and your caring personality that makes a positive difference
024to the staff members the students middle school we are truly proud that you have been selected as our school's classified my name is Laura Clark and I'm the principal of Dalton elementary school it is my honor to introduce the Dalton classified Employee of the Year Lucy Vargas Lucy has been to Dalton for less than a year but she has made a dramatic impact on her school Lucy serves as our custodian which has been an interesting opportunity during our modernization process but Lucy rises to every challenge and is shown how much she cares about her students staff and families through her tireless efforts to keep our school clean and safe Lucy is well-liked by her staff this is because she's a dedicated member of our community and works well with everyone she aims to please and
025has a fantastic attitude the staff has said on multiple occasions that Lucy is a professional who is a wonderful addition to our school I would absolutely agree with that but I also believe that Lucy is a tremendous human being she has raised all of her siblings from a young age when her parents passed away Lucy donates her time to the Red Cross to give back to her community Lucy's been through a lot of trials and tribulations and difficulties in their life but I have never met a more humble grateful and gracious person it is with great pleasure that I present the classified Employee of the Year Lucy Vargas [Applause] good evening I just want to thank the board the cabinet and dr. Kaminsky for making this event a very special special event my name is
026Alexis Norman and I am the principal at Ellington school I along with the staff at Ellington are very proud and honored to celebrate with Natalie Noah as Ellington's classified Employee of the Year Miss Noah is joined today by the two little gorgeous daughters back there would you please stand up Jasmine and Alison Miss Noah has worked for our Eagles as students with disabilities instructional aide for two years and as we were picking our classified employee of the year one of our students who happen to be on the community nominated Miss Noah he started the conversation by sharing with us how she relates to her students she shows she cares by taking her time and patiently explaining concepts in a student friendly way he also stated that Miss Noah is up to date which is a
027great way to connect with middle schoolers but the committee was truly impressed and Miss Noah's ability to connect and teach our children especially our students that consistently underachieve and have behaviors that sometimes impede their learning it was then that we decided she is truly deserving of this award the snow is not only an outstanding employee she is a mom and a student herself she's in school setting to become a teacher which is a perfect thing for her to do because she truly makes a difference in children's lives every day thus Noah's colleagues have stated that she is dedicated to assisting students in any way possible and arrives to work with a friendly smile which stays on her face all throughout the day students are excited when the snow walks in the classroom because they know
028that she is there to support them it is an honor to work with Miss Noah please join me in recognizing in Ellington's 2017-2018 classified staff member of the year miss Natalie [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] everyone the staff of took a little school is proud to present Elena Espinoza's this year's classified Employee of the Year I was fortunate to already have Elena as my camellias on when I began as principal for the middle school in 2015 however I had to share her 60% of the time with center middle school because Center hosts are newcomers last year they were granted a full time community liaison positions which meant I had to either give you landed at Center full-time or taker 75% of the time in Arabic longfellow 25% of the time well I didn't want to lose
029Elena so I used my power of persuasion to coast Ida Valdes into letting me have alumna Eureka because Elena 75% of time is gold for Foothill so what does going to do for our family at MMS I'm so glad you asked Elena's calls spanish-speaking parents for our teachers who don't speak Spanish coordinating all coffee with the principal ELAC and families and school meetings she reminds her parents productivity left at a roundtable at bus basically I just have to show up I can go on and on but since I only have two minutes we'll probably take 10 minutes to tell you the myriad of things Elena does for SMS however I will tell you one thing about Elena that amazes me if you're a walk side by side with the late wearing high heels you will
030discover that Elena will keep up with you efforts of effortlessly no matter how fast you want if I have no walking with a northeast Elena hands down 11 join the district 29 years ago as a math instructional aide at Center middle school eleven years later Elena was added as part-time in a liaison for Center elena feels very strongly about the success of our students demonstrated by atlanta going above and beyond to support our staff and consistently keeping parents informed the land on our spare time enjoy arts and crafts preparing photo and prepared photo albums Elena has five children and five grandchildren currently her oldest grandchild attends Hodge in fact all her five children attended is identified via valid elementary center middle and Gladstone high school Atlanta is joined tonight by her husband Robert Robert and
031closing I would like to state that it is truly very honored to be associated with such a big dedicated employee anyone please join the staff with NREL school and recognizing Elena's but no that's our classified [Applause] good evening I'm Kent stop Princeton hair glass down the street and is with great pleasure that I get to introduce to you our new player this is four four five kids here I believe Michael Jacob Selena and Melissa and then she's got her grandchildren Emma Irene Ryan Leah and rose rose and began her career here at as this Unified School District 26 years ago before she started as a staff member she was a parent volunteer for her five children of God until school it was because of her great passion and her ability to work with children that
032the teachers encouraged her to apply for the instructional league position luckily for us she did and she began working there in the special ed class there then five years later she moved over here to classroom Street and worked in our four five SDC class and she's still continuing to support student learning there today in addition mrs. sound of all worked would think together for the past several years servicing students various Uzo as an instructional aide was to Santa Paul worse with students who have learning disabilities every day providing quality and interruption in small group students are actively engaged their lessons as she's teaching one student said she always helps me learn more and more and more and more over the years she has developed many instructional strategies that support the needs of the special ed
033students she frequently takes a lot she frequently talks to the classroom teacher to make sure she's meeting the students learning goals she always encourages kids to be honest one special thing about mrs. Sandoval's her ability to make students feel better about themselves her positive reassurance helps build their self-esteem one boy in her class told me at lunch recess mrs. sama ball talks to me and she makes me feel happy as we all know every school in this district has that one personally turn to my being instructional aide or or it might be a parent that you go to when you need tamales all over as you see the person we turn to as missus and while she makes the best tamales so Roseanne thank you for not only the awesome tamales but for your passion
034your drive your commitment to work every day healthy teaching and inspiring the students of class nursery school we are proud that you are classified [Music] [Applause] good evening my name is Chris Ellis I'm the proud principal of Gladstone high school that's the high and staff are proud to present and well defendants as our classified Employee of the Month effort working in the guidance office but know that she is here to be recognized among so many other fine employees for more than just data she is accompanied this evening by her husband Ruben feds and it should be noted they will be celebrating one years of marriage tomorrow also of her daughter sharing this present I was just told that she has an undergraduate degree from UCLA a graduate degree from Columbia University and just started work
035at USC and Naboth Azusa ground Carly sandy who's a mezuzah Greta is a high school math teacher in a local district here that's anger without tremendously because she is a model of professionalism a true worker of the highest order for students and Families she greets all visitors in the office that they are supremely important in her sincerity is evidence at all the times she works hard to support her counselors and complete all tasks that she is given most often going beyond whatever is asked on the benefit of our students she is humble almost to a fault but still proud of our school and of our students students know that miss Bennett is genuinely concerned for their needs and will listen when they need to be heard while there are many more folks on our site
036who work hard at their roles that are deserving of this opportunity to be recognized it is fitting they meld them represents them this year is an example of commitment to student learning we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to her in this setting and let her know that her dedication has not gone unnoticed at GHS please join us in thanks and appreciation for imelda Thetis classified employee year from class stone [Applause] [Music] [Applause] good evening I am Victoria and the last assignment since both major knowledge and it is my privilege to introduce our classified Employee of the Year mrs. rina Lozano to you we just joined here tonight by her husband Mario representing their four children as well and also her colleague mrs. Atari and mrs. sutorius daughter and many of you may be
037related to them because I learned at dinner that they told me you could pretty much go like this and find the relatives so if you're here give them a shout out and also I wanted to say that Rita shared with us at our celebratory dinner in their honor that in addition to her work as lead kitchen complete food service at work Fred OTT she also has a second round and then she just got her third dog probably the one that she'd been most excited about she just became grandmother today area is about so congratulations the start of last school year when Rita join Hodge as our site lead food service worker she's worked tirelessly to create a warm and inviting environment that feeds both the tummy and the heart everyone who comes in contact with
038her especially the children acknowledge her as being truly warm caring and very much inviting to them as they enter one of the things that happened tonight of her dinner was our PTA president showed up and he mentioned to her how much of an impact she makes on the children and in fact his daughter is very shy lights up when she sees her in the community and one of her other jobs or their belt and just thanks her for being who she is and my that's the best endorsement of all and as to why she's up here tonight Rena has a can-do attitude and her focus is on making certain that our students have all their nutritional needs met in a thoughtful manner within a welcoming environment in the midst of serving breakfast and lunch to
039student body of approximately 600 students she maintains a warm smile a positive and helpful demeanor and a very efficient model of leadership she's not afraid to get her hands in there and do whatever has to be done but always very cheerfully and with a spirit of goodwill one of the things that's very difficult is when you have that many students and over 100 of them are having their first school experience they don't know how to buy lunch and what Rita has done is that she observed that the first year and said I can help with that she went home and figured out how to write out their names and put their little credit card number together introduce herself to them in their classrooms and help them with this new invitation into buying lunch that was
040appreciated not only by the students that are in kindergarten but all the others who had to come along all the teachers all the families and certainly by me and her colleagues that work with her in the kitchen we are so appreciative of her love for the job for the students it's inspiring her dedication to service and commitment to make the most of each day as evidenced in all she does including volunteering to come to back-to-school night to make sure that people sample the delicious food they serve and then sign up to receive the free reduced lunch if they need it she is energetic compassionate and fully committed to providing our students with nourishment for the body and soul on behalf of Victor Hodge staff student body community at large please join me in honoring that's
041a treat [Applause] who do you mean I'm dyin unless the principal of the elementary school on behalf of the students staff and parents it is with great pleasure and honor that I stand before you to present mrs. bender dr. Burke athletes classified Employee of the Year celebrating tonight with her mom her son her daughter and Rivia let me begin by sharing that center is a proud product of Azusa schools as a child she attended trolley elementary school put it on middle school and graduated from Azusa High School my house I was gonna say or hold it again three years ago than to return to the elementary to serve as these community community liaison I I said you principally have greatly appreciated founders dedication knowledge and support she has been a great resource to me and
042familiarizing myself with Lee school culture I could not do my job without her Sandra is friendly self-motivated a good communicator and a team player with always reliable and prepared to support anyone with anything anytime in her professional demeanor as was her work ethic contributes her great rapport with parents and her positive working relationship with all of these staff members sundar wears many hats at leat besides being my right hand she's also our community liaison and she serves as a treasure for PTA the coordinator of grassroots ESL program families in schools and your book at once council representative like this wasn't enough in addition she's also a very involved parent heinousness of high school where her children attend a test X TV show Oh Sandra does an excellent job at juggling all her duties she's always
043she always fulfills her professional responsibilities promptly conscientiously and with integrity she really takes pride in her work and develops many hours of our own time tourists Oh as you can see miss Sandra part number is truly an ethic to Charles a to the elementary school therefore we are truly blessed and honored to recognize her as these classified Employee of the Year [Applause] good evening ladies and gentlemen um I am at Liseberg Smith I'm here representing Nestle for tonight she's the director of early childhood education I would like to present it to you Longfellow to us by an Employee of the Year Michael - Michael graduated from Azusa High School he is a baby of the family with three older sisters and two older brothers and although Michael is the baby of the family he certainly
044does not exhibit any of the expected characteristics would expect of the youngest sibling he is very goal-oriented and has a strong work ethic he currently works two jobs to achieve his goal in the medical field as a diagnostic medical sonographer for Michael to be employed with us for such a short period of time and already making such a noticeable impact is remarkable he is a very quiet individual a man of few words but clearly the staff and students are taking notice of the difference he is making my oryx as innate or speech therapist and while he does not provide therapy he is instrumental in providing support in our speech program some of his duties include preparing projects and games which is essential for the you sooner speech therapy to keep the children engaged another one
045of your responsibilities is to accompany the children from the classroom to the therapy rooms and they are always excited to see him the children have shared with us that Michael makes them happy that he likes them and they like him he makes them now he reached them and he is their big hero our speech therapist agree that Michael brings new ideas to the speech program and they appreciate his input he is dedicated to the children he is flexible and always ready to assist students in any manner she has a positive rapport with the staff and the students that is built on mutual respect but most importantly therapist saved children love to work with Michael he is their big hero Michael believes that children need a positive influence every day in life and he provides that
046for them he possesses an acute sense of the needs of the children and has the ability to change the child's emotional state when they are feeling upset or frustrated he understands that every child's personal interests and incorporates this knowledge when he works with them Michael helps children to understand that life has positive and negative experiences and what they can do to be better people now and in the future even though they are very young Michael focuses on the power of brotherhood friendship and using your gifts to help others Michael is decided to heal not hurt and his moral code influences other people in positive ways Michael is our big hero for he has shared with us his friendship his gifts and his positive influences we are proud and honored to have Michael as part of
047our staff so please join me in recognizing Michael artists [Applause] good evening everyone my name is Marcela bazookas and it is my great honor and privilege to present to you magnolias Elementary School's classified Employee of the Year miss Veronica Serrano is 69 years ago as a clerk for Adult Ed she then transferred to the clerk position at Magnolia school and eventually promoted to become our most valued school secretary Veronica is the heart of our school and I mean that figuratively and literally she says she loves coming to work because she loves her job her warm smile welcomes everyone for her doors and there is nothing she cannot or will not do for a student parent staff member or community members her patients and caring demeanor are a true reflection of the heart she has our
048school community I am always amazed to see Veronica action she brings a whole new meaning to the word multitask like a heart she never sick Savita she is always problem solving or problem preventing and sends much-needed oxygen to wherever it's running low sometimes my office she is hardworking dependable and dedicated to the wild mustang team she spent many afternoons well past her end of shift to make sure all deadlines are met and all is in place for the next day this is just who she is and she strives for excellence and she makes it happen in addition to being a wild mustang veronica is a wife and a proud mom she has two beautiful daughters who attended Azusa schools her oldest daughter jasmine is a student at the University of Laverne studying physics and her
049youngest daughter Jessica is here with her tonight but I won't make her stand and she is a junior at Gladstone High School where she plays I couldn't be more blessed or karateka every single day she's an exemplary member of our team and deserves this wonderful recognition congratulations Veronica we are proud to name you as magnolias classified staff member of the year we thank you [Applause] good evening my name is Jenny Lee and on the principal amount of the elementary school and I'm proud to present to you our pacifier Chloe of the year miss Tommy Ortiz exceptional instructional aides for parent Tom and Maggie agrees her boyfriend Bobby McGill and her idea and her two son rightfully test I'll keep you and other son Jackson there to celebrate not only is miss Artie's an integral part
050of the team that serves one of our nice few classes she is an integral part of the Mountain View community as a whole she is well respected by the team she works with as well as the staff members and the students of the rest of the school although her ability to work with students who who have special needs is commendable what has also captured the attention of our staff is her commitment to the well-being of the entire school community what our teachers shared the ways in which mr. T and which is premised the students in the class that she served a student in the school as well as a staff are countless she not only stepped in when she sees a need she also said Sarah she's delighted and relatable respectful and committed she is
051an excellent example of the great people working versus a unified mr. T's and given her time ever just account by volunteering during our school family nights and also eight students in the giardiniera component of the Environmental Club this program drives that during her her at elections students and the club had gained life skills having fun and curling their own fruits and vegetables it should also be edited that is artis it's resourceful and creative not only when what he puts to it but also when it comes to working in the garden with this today it is know that she will stop and she sees something on the curve that we could use in the garden she will pick it up though in a car and bring it to school that is dedication that I think that
052is outlook and insight of an excellent educator because we do whatever it takes right when asked what drives or mr. T's share that she loves to be a positive influence to students and believes that working in a school is the best way to the rapport with students and have a lasting impact on our future and our community congratulations mr. T's we are honored to have you represent melted you as specified [Applause] good evening everyone my name is Antonio Flores and I'm the principal Parramatta elementary and I want to take this opportunity to introduce you paramount Elementary's classified Employee of the Year and Brittany's joy tonight my lovely wife Barbara let me tell you a little bit about Brittany Brittany is our kitchen lead a fair amount and she's below like all who work with her
053in the kitchen paramount staff and students Brittany is a graduate of Glasgow in high school and she began to work for the adzuki Unified School District in 2011 as a food service worker funny enough her first assignment was spent on elementary and through her hard work and dedication she became a lead food service worker for a long time elementary but lucky for us though two years ago she came back to Paramount and this year I've had the privilege to observe Brittany's great rapport with students and parents Brittany has created a welcome and safe environment in the cafeteria she greets students in the morning and at lunch she has great interaction with teachers and staff and always and always treats everyone with a smile Brittany has motivated dependable and punctual and recently I had a conversation
054with Brittany although funny every time I speak to her she jumps I don't know what it is but I asked her what does she love about her job and her reply was simply the kids the children she loves what she loves most is being able to interact with them get to know them and build relationships with - this and for these reasons and for many others is why brain areas is paramount interest 2017-2018 classified Employee of the Year [Applause] did you meet everyone my name is Jenny wedi the staff of Powell school is proud to present miss Abigail VA or as she is lovingly known at Powell Miss Abbie as our classified Employee of the Year North the fan club over here in the front front two rows of aliens joined here tonight by her
055proud parents Iranian Madea and her sister Beatrice [Applause] and really a special guest that she has here tonight is named mrs. mom Cara who was actually Abby's community liaison when Abby was in elementary school all right how cool is one of the last schools to get a community hands on and before doing so we had no idea what we were missing out on Abigail joined us last November and I can't quite remember how we got along without her let me tell you Abbie's story she came to the United States from Mexico when she was in fourth grade she didn't speak English and was scared and self-conscious when she started school in her words it was really really hard for me but then she met mrs. monk Island mrs. moncada was the only staff person that
056Abbie been at her school this book Spanish she started reaching out to Abby and her parents asking if they needed anything offering shoes and clothes along with love and support mrs. Moncada made all the difference as a child Abby told her I want to be like you I want to grow up and help kids fast forward a few years Abby finished high school and then went on to Citrus College and received her associate degree in language arts and so behavioral sciences Abby's mother did not have the opportunity to go to college so when she graduated abigail gave her diploma to her mother it is as much for her as it is for me she said so you see that where this is going Abby did become like this is mom Colin it is now Abby
057who looks out for those children who are in need giving them shoes and clothes and backpacks it is now Abby who is this parents in finding the resources to get the assistance that they need it is now Abby who helps lead parent meetings and workshops who works alongside parents to plan to Molly making parties yes we happen to with Powell we're not the only plate and people they my own festivals and this loving spirit is not only given out at Powell Abigail is dedicated to her church and just returned from a mission to Mexico where she was part of the team that delivered toys and food and loved I know her parents must be very proud Abby told me that just as she gave her mom her college diploma and she wants to dedicate this
058award to her mother as well so congratulations to Abby and her mom and her whole family thank you for allowing her to share her level with us at Powell school please join me in honoring Abigail [Music] [Applause] my nemesis your high school it is with great pleasure that I introduce to our high schools classified employee of the year 2017 the one the only miss Claudia jack-of-all-trades Bonita find her husband Jose yes you do understand daughter Lisette father David and money settle out Bobby is a product of the existing schools she started at the Kevin Murray Center and then graduated from limestone high school she's been with the district for over 15 years she's worked at seer high school the adult center last on high school center middle school POW school and even she called me
059a galaxy a long long time ago helped me Rocha this is a high school registering adults in the ESL program currently she is a special education instructor instructional paid in our CCAP program but it has also been a school clerk attendance clerk nurse aide instructional aide and you kinda get the idea here her colleagues described her as hardworking outgoing friendly confident and knowledgeable Claudia is not only a pleasure to work with but also an unbelievable asset to see her high school she arrives early every day greets everyone everyone with a smile and a welcome to Sierra high school a moment later she is knee deep in Ares following up on tardy students parent phone calls helping the principal with Spanish updating attendance and greeting visitors students know that miss Benitez is caring supportive consistent and
060also firm no matter what the situation body remains positive and always has a smile on her face everyone who's familiar with client knows that her response and suggestions are always going to be fair and right down the middle what best sums up Claudia's interaction with students and stakeholders is that everyone regardless of what is going on is treated with kindness respect dignity and is recognized she is always focused on lifting up every student so they can succeed and supporting their Rica parents so they feel Sierra is their home in her spare time Claudia can be found at baseball games art museums antique car shows an occasional rock concert her grew however her greatest passion is spending time with her husband and daughter her smile wind from ear to ear and the gleam in her eye
061became brighter when she talks about her family it is with the great pleasure that we recognize miss Claudia [Applause] good evening I need that Walker the principal at Slauson middle school it is my pleasure along with our staff to present miss Dominique Katara as this year's loss and classified Employee of the Year [Applause] how many kids joined this evening by her proud parents mr. and mrs. Alvarez [Applause] Dominique joined District four years ago and has served as a special education instructional aide when I think of the impact the Dominique makes every day in the classroom I am honored to have her as part of our Slauson team dominique is friendly kind hardworking and gentle she understands the demands of supporting in a special education classroom and does it with such grace and behaving Dominique's first
062priority is to the students on campus she demonstrates an enthusiasm for working with kids and always lifts them first when making decisions in the classroom she works collaboratively with the classroom teachers and strives to make marketing exciting and fun for all students Dominique's excellent knowledge with behavior skills has supported her in establishing a good rapport with each of the students in the classroom through her work ethic Dominique demonstrates that she upholds the care and concern of not only our students but also the parents and our staff when necessary Dominique arrives early and stays beyond her professional workday in order to accomplish any task she is never too busy to lend a helping hand in a dirty in addition to working for Azusa Unified School District Dominique also works for LA County as a recreation service
063leader and the Azusa Parks and Rec as a reflection of her dedication for her work here's what some of her colleagues had to say dömine is dedicated a responsible and friendly she is like having another teacher in the classroom dominique is always so supportive and the students enjoy having her in the classroom Thank You Dominique Dominique Boston is very lucky to have you as part of the Panther team please join me in recognizing and congratulating Dominique Patera as Boston's classified Employee of the Year [Applause] good evening my name is Adrianna Garcia Medina principal at valle del elementary and it is my honor to present valle del classified Employee of the Year Miss Anna Collins Steven and her daughter Rebecca well mr. Collins has served the essence of school district for the past ten years as
064a computer navigate she is one of Bella Dell superheroes we have many but she is one that is very very special each and every day you will find miss Collins in our computer network making sure that it's in tip-top shape and ready to go for our students not only does the technology have to be working but the lab must be neat and super organized and it also looks amazing so thank you for doing that every day day in and day out she also welcomes everybody with the warmest smile and she helps everyone with no judgment even when we forget to check if the printer was plugged in our kids absolutely love her our teachers are forever indebted to her technology expertise before you can even ask for help she is there faster than the speeding
065bullet there is no job that is too small or project that is too big that she does not take on and accomplish when any problem arises as with technology it often does she is ready to research troubleshoot and find a solution it is with that same tenacity that has been her back to college I love to talk to her about her college courses when she starts to talk about what she's learning her eyes really do light up you can see that same positive energy when she's working with students and teachers and parents she is not only an excellent role model but as support to everyone as well we want to thank our superhero Miss Emma Collins for her patience her kindness and her daily support miss Collins you are truly an inspiration at valle del
066elementary and we congratulate you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] diana is the district reference technician diana is an elusive girl she attended in a year she asked me not to disclose her son David currently attempt Asuza hi and like his mother and grandfather before him as mr. Tony Garcia as that's more about mr. Garcia's longevity Wow Diana's very fault is a very involved kind of suicide score she's a football booster a basketball booster and very active in high-tech and organizes many many many fundraisers and events she's also a drama mom because you're probably going to a place but the drama mama is with the school and with Diana does is she helps out with food concessions at whatever else mr. Lewis and his actors needed Dianna's he believed active in CSEA as the chapter secretary
067and union steward and he's participated in the Azusa Relay for Life is the team captain of the associate Azusa USB routine ABC for the past seven years and also took part in the City of Hope's walk for hope as I mentioned earlier Diana's and the district Records technician she's been in this position since I hired her in 2007 diana has confided in numerous people on multiple occasions at these ten years have been the best years of her life because of my ingredients smile anyway as records technician Diana's primary responsibility is ensuring that student records are accurate and complete and provided to employers and colleges as often as not timely manner means because sometimes people don't handle their affairs Diana to save them and she does and she does this because often it's a job or
068admission to a school or a university that's paid and Diana search with digital records and microfiche and sometimes even old yearbooks for proof of graduation and residency to fight people what they need it should also be noted as is often the case a large part of Diana's job is duties as a science in CWA there are wide-ranging issues and plane of duties of a sign that prep duties as assigned and Diana handles them all with efficiency and she's become a trusted adviser who is no problem as I hope I'd be very clear in the community please join me in hiring [Applause] forgive me Stella David but I was remiss earlier in not recognizing what a great job our nutrition services folks to the [Music] ladies come on out if you would please by the way
069one clarification on mr. Creoles just his comments it's other related duties [Music] [Applause] unfortunately his parents were not able to be here but they're enjoying spirit David starts at his church and he's also enrolled at Fullerton College majoring in biology with hopes of working with a forestry department in the future David likes to travel and to spend time with his family back home in Mexico our drivers nutrition success drivers a heartbeat of our program we entrust them with all prepared meals and hope that they will deliver these meals safely to all 18 sites 187 days of the year this is really an act of faith unday vyd has proved that faith does move mountains David joined the district in 2015 as a substitute custodian it was quickly evident that David had an excellent work ethic
070and a very pleasant character the department's staff quickly warmed up to him I'm the majority of the kitchen ladies adopted him as their son as we embarked on me on piloting that after-school supper program the department needed a reliable driver who worked under minimal supervision since the meals will be being delivered out of the normal schedule which is three to five that's when we serve supper David my Deb it really made my job I'm the department's job easy because he was able to mount up his route and make myself a deliveries in a timely manner with very very minimal supervision David was very instrumental in ensuring that the soccer program was successful he made sure those meals got to each site by 3:00 he starts his shift at 10:00 least 18 school sites so you
071can imagine parents are dropping off kids of picking up kids and he's able to get those basically today we serve over 1500 supper meals daily and it's because of wonderful dedicated and hardworking employees that like David that our students receive Dena every evening and don't go to bed hungry because we all know they're students in this district who really need that meal to all the honorees we have this evening congratulations and thank you for serving the students over to the Unified School District I offer have felt appreciation for all the units and talents you have done continued to so generously share with us was that Unified School District I am so proud of you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] good evening my name is Norma Camacho I am the proud principal of Clifford Marie Elementary
072I am truly honored to stand beside this woman Alison Fernandes Azusa Unified School District classified Employee of the Year and her most important job Elsa is mother to four to four children three daughters and one son she has some family members here with her today her sister that they see on her daughters Jessica crystal Marissa her daughter's boyfriend Gabriel although Daniel wasn't her son Daniel wasn't able to be here tonight he's here with us and spirits and she is also joined by of course her loyal Marie family [Applause] I would like to recognize your family and thank them for loaning her to us for family nights fundraisers special projects etc etc etc I know there's a lot of late nights all of your children attended armory and is a Murray alumni as well the Mountaineers
073Elfa attended center as well Gladstone high school but I don't hold that against her as an asset Judith and Cal State LA Elsa began her career in Azusa as a parent volunteer at Murray while her children attended school one day her daughter Marissa asked the principal if javis at the school for her mom and thus began Elsa's tenure as Marie's computer lab Aiden - sorry Elsa has worked in this position for over 20 years dr. Martin Luther King famously said if a man is called to be a streetsweeper he should street sweets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry he should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will cause to say here lived a great sweet street sweeper who did his job well I
074believe that Elsa carries these words in her heart when she comes to work at Murray each day Elsa's energy level is unmatched she has the stamina of a marathon runner when it comes to taking on giraffes and completing projects she's usually powered by diet coke breakfast burritos and mrs. Castillo speak young every time the district has a new tech program Elsa makes sure that Murray is the first to get things up and running her tenacity in ensuring that all programs are ready is unparalleled but she doesn't stop there when other schools need assistance she is always quick to offer her help she has always three steps ahead of the rest of the world she is determined and persistent challenges and obstacles to us mere mortals are simply speed bumps for Elsa we might slow her
075down for a minute but she charges forward and just says things done as our lab aide Elsa also works closely with our tech reps she helps anyone who is having computer problems staffs students and frequently me Elsa goes above and beyond when needed she steps up to help in any capacity she has great leadership skills and knows how to be flexible when needed she is always keenly aware of the students who need that extra bit of attention she reads to that child who is struggling she listens to that child who is having problems she buys socks for a student who needs them just because and she does this all quietly and she thinks that most of us aren't paying attention today though so we are she pays attention to the students needs staff needs and
076she gives from her heart perhaps of even greater importance in Elsa our students and staff have a daily role model of a person of integrity and honor who gives her finest effort and excellence to any and all given tasks it is truly a privilege and an honor to call you a colleague friend please join me in recognizing and honoring outside [Music] [Applause] [Music] so Oprah just recently launched its incredible speech the Golden Globes I'm not sure if anybody was a profound speech that she gave but she accepted her award and even more so I found that I found a interview that she gave backstage was run like a Q&A and they had asked her what is the key to what is it what is it that makes you successful what is the key to your
077success and she said something that was actually it was super profound for me and I've had to stop tonight and I wrote it down and this is what she said she said the key to fulfillment success and happiness contentment in life is when you align your personality with what you're so actually came to do I believe everyone has a soul their own personal spiritual energy so when you use your personality to serve whatever that thing is you can't help be successful and I thought and the first person that thought of when when I when I heard that was my own mother my mother has just recently celebrated 40 years with the County of Los Angeles as a clerk for their brilliant department so what she doesn't anyways is she goes out she interviews patients that
078did not have medical benefits and tries to get them to qualify to get some sort of help and and I have to tell you that you know as a 44 year old woman now and I look back on my life I think about you know having conversations with we're working like that she talks to me every day and I can't think of a day when she was in a bad mood hey I can't think of a day where she was upset or she was cranky or anything like that and that happened and this fit her perfectly because she would come home and she would tell me stories of what she did it work to help people and I thought that was her thing and successes is measured in different ways and she's always told me
079I don't wealthy I'm rich just because I have you we have this we can have life and and and so now as an older woman as a mom as a parent I I take that with me and I feel like wow I mean I'll be rich okay but but I I feel a lot of contentment and so I turn that around and they look at I look at all of you that that come to work on a daily basis the stories that I've heard we've heard some very powerful things tonight you know we've heard positive energy we've heard generosity we've heard giving and and so you know I have to I had to stop and thank you and congratulate you for for you fighting that thing that thing in life to be able to turn
080around and give back to our students and back to our communion back to us and back to all of us so nam behalf of the board of on behalf of myself and to all of you tonight that received these incredible incredible words thank you so much this is the golden glow [Music] [Applause] no no my daughter says oh you should have first of all I just want to say I love what I do okay and I know each one there's nothing different about me than what everybody does and all these people that I've seen him come up do you know I've been with other people and school so I just want to say is first of all my love for something kind of lot to do with my father who just passed away in May
081so I just want to like let you know he'd love me his mic okay if I didn't have my children to support me I'm just letting you know teachers that taught my kids because every one of them you know has done something for my kids my kids are just all of part of me you know thank you supporting me even with my girls today I just want to let you know that all of us are in that same position we love what we do and the kids are what you know not only the kids but that surrounds you they always say oh thank you you're gonna need a good thing and all the support you guys do already and you know just I just want to say thanks [Music] [Applause] [Music] on behalf of the
082whole credit union I'm proud to present Suzi Unified School District's classified Employee of the Year [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] okay so one last final round of applause for everyone you need to cover the big news on behalf of the Board of Education thank you to to Glasgow elementary for hosting us tonight the incredible incredible boards and all the work that you put into participer tonight nutrition services thank you style your staff incredible thank you so much everyone please have a good night drive [Music]