Eight Alameda Unified School District Employees Nominated for Award

Announcement submitted by Alameda Unified School District:

AUSD employees nominated eight of their colleagues for the “Classified School Employee of the Year” award this month, and the nominations are so inspiring we want to share them with our community.

The “Classified School Employee of the Year” Award (CSEY) is held every year to honor school district employees (meaning those who don’t have teaching certificates) “who best represent all of California’s classified staff and symbolize the profession’s contributions and commitment to quality education,” according to the California Department of Education (CDE) website. School districts send nominations in to their county offices of education, which then choose one person to honor in each of six categories: Child Nutrition; Maintenance, Operations and Facilities; Office and Technical; Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance; Support Services and Security; and Transportation.

Each office of education then sends its six names on to the CDE for the statewide competition.

Although the Alameda County Office of Education did not choose anyAUSD employees to move forward to the state competition, Superintendent Sean McPhetridge, Ed.D., expressed delight and gratitude at the excellent work the district’s classified employees do, as well as their colleagues’ generous support.

“I am deeply moved by the love and respect shown to these nominees by their co-workers,” he said, “as well as the incredible stories of dedication, compassion, and going the extra mile for our school site communities. These employees truly go above and beyond, and they deserve our thanks and recognition.”

The eight nominations submitted by AUSD employees this year were:

Nominee: Nasima Bahrami, (Para-Professional, Maya Lin School)

Category: Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance

Nominator: Yasmine Amador (Teacher, Maya Lin School)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “Excellent! Great follow-through! Highly responsible!”

· “Maintains high professional work standards”

· “Highly ethical in all interactions”

· “Made a wolf rug and donated it to Maya Lin School”

Nominee: Terri Cooley (Office Manager, Otis Elementary School)

Category: Office and Technical

Nominator: Chuck Kapelke (PTA President)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “(Terri) is our master air-traffic controller.”

· “She quietly provides the things our students with limited resources need, but not in a way that enables a system of handouts.”

· “She has a pulse on every family and child.”

Nominee: Esponila Johnson (Office Manager, Ruby Bridges Elementary School)

Category: Office and Technical

Nominator: Heather Zunguze (Title 1 Teacher, on behalf of Ruby Bridges staff)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “[She] embodies everything that we value in a leader: She is a mentor in our community, an educator with our teachers and staff, a role model to our parents, and a parental figure to our children.”

· “[She is] a calming presence, incredibly fair, consistently caring, and diligent in all [of] her duties.”

Nominee: Candie Krasky (Clerical Program Assistant, Alameda Adult School)

Category: Office and Technical

Nominators: Joy Chua (Interim Principal, Alameda Adult School) and Barbara Knox (ESL Adult Teacher)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “Candie is the queen of assessments.”

· “Her precision, finesse and tolerance for exacting, tedious and complicated work is invaluable.”

· “Candie problem solves, makes suggestions, and takes initiative in creating new practices and reinstating old ones to benefit our Adult School.”

Nominee Vickie Levitch (Office Manager, Lum Elementary School)

Category: Office and Technical

Nominator: Jennifer Ryan (PTA President)

Quotes from the Nomination

· “Vickie is the true leader at Lum. She shows everyone the ropes.”

· “She is efficient, and kind, patient and caring.”

Nominee: Ben Mason (Para-Professional, Alameda High School)

Category: Para-Professional and Instructional Assistant

Nominator: Kaitlin Rupido (Special Education Teacher, Alameda High School)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “[Ben] is punctual, loyal, hard working, and accurate.”

· “He is a fantastic job coach at Pagano’s and Fairyland with his 1:1 student.”

· “Ben deserves recognition for being a service leader, a role model, a dedicated educator, and a fine member of the AUSD.”

Nominee: Chris Natali (Driver, Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Department)

Category: Maintenance, Operations, and Facilities

Nominator: Frank Munoz (President, CSEA 860); Miguel Quentro (Vice President, CSEA 860)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “Chris is a very hard worker and has a positive attitude.”

· “He is highly motivated and well respected in our MOF Department and school district.”

· “He is always willing to take on additional tasks or to help out another co-worker.”

Nominee: Raul Rekow (Para-Professional, Alameda High School)

Category: Para-Educator and Instructional Assistant

Nominator: Rubilene Noguera (Behavior Specialist)

Quotes from the Nomination:

· “Raul has an amazing work ethic. He always seeks additional information to assist in his professional development.”

· “He is always calm and professional during moments of crisis.”

· “He models positive attitude, professionalism, and commitment for all staff.”

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