Lake Elsinore Unified School District
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Announcing 'Teacher of the Year' and 'Employee of the Year' Awards for 2019
Save the date! LEUSD’s annual appreciation and awards reception is on Wednesday, May 8, 2019
LAKE ELSINORE—Seven district Employee of the Year honorees, three district/county Teacher of the Year nominees, plus site honorees from 23 schools and district departments will be recognized during LEUSD’s annual Employee Appreciation Reception on Wednesday, May 8, 2019, 3 p.m., at Pins and Pockets, in Lake Elsinore. Retirees in 2019 will also be recognized. Admission is free.
“Honorees exemplify top tier professionalism and commitment to all students,” said Superintendent Dr. Doug Kimberly. “Their dedicated service to students and community is a powerful catalyst for college and career success.”
Seven LEUSD Employees of the Year (listed below) will be recognized by the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) at the annual Celebrating Educators luncheon in May, 2019. However, the district’s top three Teacher of the Year honorees, Jean Verrell (William Collier ES), Andrew Kice (Terra Cotta MS) and Richard “Rick” Wolter (Elsinore HS), denoted by an asterisk below (*), have been selected one year in advance to synchronize with county and state Teacher of the Year awards, and will be celebrated by RCOE in 2020, following official announcements of the county’s top school employees and teachers.
LEUSD Employee of the Year & Teacher of the Year Honorees for 2019
Jean Verrell,* William Collier Elementary School, Grade 3....................... Teacher of the Year-Elementary
Andrew Kice,* Terra Cotta Middle School, Grade 8 Science..................... Teacher of the Year-Middle School
Richard Wolter,* Elsinore HS, Mild-Mod Biology, Enviro. Science............. Teacher of the Year-High School
Julie Edmunds, Director, Assessment and Accountability......................... Certificated Administrator
Mark Dennis, Coordinator, Community and Media Relations..................... Classified Administrator
Birdie (Aurora) Guerra, Dispatcher/Bus Driver, Transportation Dept....... Classified Employee
Mary Griggs, Superintendent’s Secretary.................................................... Confidential Employee
Bridget Gross, SEL Support Provider, Rice Canyon Elementary................ Site Support Employee
Victor Bond, Ortega High School................................................................. Counselor of the Year
Dr. Preston Perez, Lakeland Village School............................................... Principal of the Year
School and Site Employees of the Year
School and site Employee of the Year and Teacher of the Year honorees were nominated by a vote of their peers, or, in some cases, by administrators. School and site honorees are listed in the table below.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, all site and district honorees announced today are highly respected and worthy of this Teacher of the Year and Employee of the Year distinction,” said Board President Stan Crippen.
|
School or District Site |
LEUSD Employees & Teachers of the Year |
Categories (EOY, TOY, denotes RCOE recognition) |
|
Cottonwood Canyon Elementary |
Tracy Barackman, Grade 4 Jane Hodges, Secretary III Sara Egbert, SEL Support Provider |
Teacher Classified Site Support |
|
Donald Graham Elementary |
Janet Valadez, Grade 5 Isabel Cuevas Soler, Paraeducator III/Special Ed. Kevin Kinney, Behavior Intervention Specialist |
Teacher Classified
Site Support |
|
Elsinore Elementary |
Janis Walker, Grade 3 Laurie Snider, Clerk III: Assignment |
Teacher Classified |
|
Earl Warren Elementary |
Joni Matteis-Ferguson, Grade 3 Elizabeth Schuelke, Secretary III |
Teacher Classified |
|
Machado Elementary |
Denee Selman, Grade 4/5 Aurora Aureoles, Paraeducator II/Bilingual |
Teacher Classified
|
|
Railroad Canyon Elementary |
Rachel Hall, Grade 1 |
Teacher |
|
Rice Canyon Elementary |
Daniel ‘Dan’ Schiro, Grade 2 Dorothy Garcia, Paraeducator I Bridget Gross, SEL Support Provider |
Teacher Classified Site Support/EOY |
|
Ronald Reagan Elementary |
Trina Santelices, Kindergarten Debbie Neary, Health Technician Jennifer Edquist, Nurse |
Teacher Classified Site Support |
|
Tuscany Hills Elementary |
Jennifer Gurule, Elementary Laura Dickerson, Paraeducator III/Special Ed. Judy Jordan-Roney, Speech/Language Pathologist |
Teacher Classified
Site Support |
|
William Collier Elementary |
Jean Verrell, Grade 3 Jennifer Patrick, Secretary III Tracy Taylor, Speech/Language Pathologist |
Teacher/TOY Classified Site Support
|
|
Wildomar Elementary |
Gay St. Yves, Kindergarten Delia Leon, Paraeducator II/Bilingual Luz Angel Paez, Speech/Language Pathologist |
Teacher Classified Site Support
|
|
Withrow Elementary |
Karen Howard, Kindergarten Kris Hubbard, Paraeducator I |
Teacher Classified |
|
Lakeland Village School K-8
|
Elizabeth Pettit, Grade 3 Elaine Lynch, Paraeducator III/Special Ed. Amanda Murphy, Speech/Language Pathologist |
Teacher Classified
Site Support |
|
Luiseño School K-8
|
Karen Halderman, Grade 4 Melissa Salgado, Campus & Study Hall Supervisor Janet Calva, Psychologist Colleen Centeio |
Teacher Classified
Site Support Counselor |
|
Canyon Lake Middle School |
Melissa Upton, PE, 6,7,8 Mary Maxwell, Secretary III Denise Smith, Psychologist Ed Surman, Counselor |
Teacher Classified Site Support Counselor |
|
David Brown Middle School |
Susan Reilly, Grade 8 Science Todd Thomas, Campus & Study Hall Supervisor Ryan Forgette, Speech/Language Pathologist Robert Sutten, Jr., Counselor |
Teacher Classified
Site Support
Counselor |
|
Elsinore Middle School |
Tisha Scott, Math, Grade 7 Debra Castanon, Library/Media Assistant III Cheryl Bartel, Nurse Corinne Bodnar, Counselor |
Teacher Classified
Site Support Counselor |
|
Terra Cotta Middle School |
Andrew Kice, Grade 8 Science Kasey Seymour, Library/Media Assistant III Katherine Daugherty, Psychologist Maria Finazzo, Counselor |
Teacher/TOY Classified
Site Support
Counselor |
|
Elsinore High School |
Richard “Rick” Wolter, Mild/Mod Biology, Environmental Science Kimberly Johnson, Library/Media Assistant III Michelle Vandenburgh, Psychologist Rico Borrero, Counselor |
Teacher/TOY
Classified
Site Support
Counselor |
|
Lakeside High School |
Amy Cecilio, French Robin Lacasse, Bookkeeper: HS Valerie Geason, Counselor |
Teacher Classified Counselor |
|
Temescal Canyon High School |
Robert Parks, Engineering Design, IB Design Autumn Crawford, Library/Media Assistant III Natalia Barraza, Psychologist Kebra Deckert, Counselor |
Teacher
Classified
Site Support Counselor |
|
Keith McCarthy Academy |
Art McMahon, Math Middle |
Teacher |
|
Ortega High School |
Lisa Callaway, English Sandra Marquez, Senior Computer Lab Assistant Victor Bond, Counselor |
Teacher Classified
Counselor/EOY |
|
Departmental Recognitions (from participating offices) |
||
|
Children & Family Services |
Avelina Lorenzo, Social Services Coordinator: Head Start |
Classified |
|
Information Technology |
Jason Covarrubias, Technology Support Specialist |
Classified |
|
Maintenance & Operations |
Pablo Casillas, Senior Maintenance Worker |
Classified |
|
Student Support Services |
Crystal Cerasaro, Clerk III: Assignment |
Classified |
|
Transportation Services |
Birdie (Aurora) Guerra, Dispatcher/Bus Driver |
Classified/EOY |
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