Rick Nieves Honored as Employee of the Year for Keeping High Schools Safe

Richard (Rick) Nieves has been selected as (CUSD) 2012 Classified Employee of the Year. He and finalists Calavera Hills Middle School Special Education Instructional Assistant Carol Fredericks and Buena Vista Elementary Night Custodian Angel Santiago were honored at the May 9, 2012 Board of Trustees meeting. Nieves will vie for countywide classified employee honors.

A 1972 Carlsbad High School graduate and son of a former CUSD employee, Nieves offers a sincere commitment to his job, the District and the community. Confiding that he was “surprised and very honored” to be selected, Nieves says the students always come first. He notes, “I enjoy being able to provide our students with a safe environment; one in which they can thrive.” 

Nieves, who joined the District in 1997, served as Campus Safety Assistant at (CVA) before moving to . CVA Principal Keith Holley praised Nieves as “a transformational force in creating and sustaining a safe and orderly environment by monitoring, shaping and correcting student behavior. Rick’s interactions with students strike a remarkable balance between caring support for the individual student and unequivocal insistence on safe and appropriate behavior.”  

Throughout the school year, classified employees of each month are nominated by District administrators for consistently performing above and beyond in the scope of their jobs. Recently, a selection committee comprised of classified union and District representatives reviewed each monthly employee, recommended three finalists and recommended the selection of the ultimate Classified Employee of the Year.

Torrie Norton, Assistant Superintendent, Personnel Services, says, “Rick Nieves and our other two finalists exemplify the professionalism that we look for in all of our employees.”