Unexpected Honor for Trio of Clover Park Employees

The Clover Park School District’s trio of Employee of the Year winners has something in common: None of them expected to win.

Charlotte Clouse of , Michael Vincent of  and Rose Scheidt of were selected by an independent panel of Lakewood citizens and announced as the winners prior to Monday’s School Board meeting at district headquarters.

They join a long list of CPSD employees honored in three categories since 1987 for their exemplary work.

Clouse won the administrative award for her work as Southgate’s principal. Her nomination said that “she honors her employees with respect and dignity,” and has trust in her teachers to use their professional judgments to make decisions that support what is best for students. Clouse has been at the school for three years and her door is always open to students, parents and staff.

Vincent, a Learning Assistance Program teacher and principal intern at Harrison Prep, was selected as the certificated employee. He is a Nationally Board Certified math teacher and chair of the department, as well as school activity coordinator, Site Council facilitator – and the school’s last original teacher. Among the assets described in his nomination are “kind, calm and helpful.” Vincent’s passion for student learning is evident in the resources he creates, such as a classroom Web site.

Scheidt, who has been at Mann for 20 years, was chosen as the classified employee. As the secretary for the school’s Guidance Office, she interacts with students, staff and parents on a daily basis, and, according to her nomination, “she goes beyond her regular duties to assist others with special projects and tasks.” Scheidt is also the first to welcome new families to the school and works hard to make the transition as smooth as possible.

All three described their winning Employee of the Year as unexpected.

Clouse said it never crossed her mind that she would be honored for doing her job – coming in every day “and moving forward and doing what I need to do for staff and for kids to make a difference in their lives.”

“You kind of just get to a mindset where you don’t think about yourself,” she said. “So when I found out I was nominated, I was very honored.”

Vincent felt similarly. He had been a nominee once before, and felt that because all of the write-ups were “so good,” just being nominated was an honor.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” he said. “I didn’t even tell my parents or anything. I was worried they would come sit through the meeting and I didn’t want them to have to drive out here.”

 Vincent said he was proudest of how he came to be nominated.

“I appreciated that it is teachers that recommend you, so it’s peers who took the time to write letters of recommendation,” he said.

Scheidt said that she expected her friend and fellow nominee Elaine Johnson, from , to win. After all, Johnson trained her for her current job when they were both at Mann and Scheid moved over from the Attendance Office.

“It’s kind of comical,” she said with a laugh.

Scheidt said that a group of male students helped write her nomination, and that she cannot even read the letters because she starts crying. Several of those students refer to her as a second mother – and they are not the only Mann students who call her Mom.

“It gives me a great feeling that these kids come to me and that they can confide in me,” she said. “For me to be able to have that connection with them is awesome.”

Clouse said that in three years at Southgate, she, too, has been able to forge invaluable connections. It wasn’t always easy, though, she admitted, adding that her school at one point did not have the best reputation.

“When I came here, one of the things I said was that we have a lot to be proud of, and that we need to be proud of our families and what they do every day to get their kids here … We need to be proud of the fact that we’re from Southgate.”

That belief has resulted in a true sense of pride among Southgate community, she said.

“They were like ‘Wow, Charlotte was administrator of the year; what a great thing for us,’ ” she said. “I think it was very affirming for us, that we really are making a difference and moving forward.”

Vincent said that he has also helped with the raising of a school – literally. He was there when Harrison Prep opened its doors in 2005.

“I’m the last original – all six years – and that’s one of the things I have really enjoyed,” he said. “Being at the same place and starting with a small school and being with it every step of the way as it has grown into the success it is today.”