April 2024 Employees of the Month

april employees of the month

The Monroe School District Employee Honor Roll recognition program is aimed at recognizing employees for exemplifying the Monroe School District Commitment through their service to our students, staff, families, and/or community.

Supervisors, fellow employees, parents, and community members submitted 27 nominations in April.

All April nominees are recognized HERE, but only one classified and one certificated staff member are selected each month as the Employees of the Month. 

Please join us in congratulating our April Employees of the Month!


CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Karen Ligman - Office Manager at Salem Woods Elementary

Karen Ligman & Shawn Woodward

Nomination #1: Not only is Karen Ligman incredibly good at every aspect of her job as Office Manager at Salem Woods, she excels in so many other ways that benefit our students. Karen jumps at the chance to celebrate or to support a student. We have many students who are working on behavior goals and they visit the office to share their successes. Karen congratulates the students and talks with them 1:1 about how their hard work has paid off. She is equally kind to students who are struggling and is just naturally so many students' "person." For example, there is a student who comes to visit to "work" in the office, as a way to take a break and regulate his emotions. Karen invites the student into her workspace and allows him to use the adding machine (which he loves), provides some scratch paper for writing or coloring and chats with him about his day. She truly cares about each student here at Salem and will go out of her way to make sure each one feels seen and heard.

Nomination #2: Karen has a student from our SLC program that eats with her almost every day. They have amazing conversations and she has taken the time to build a strong relationship with him. She has activities out and ready for him most days so that he can eat and draw, color, or create. She takes his leftover lunch to his classroom so he can eat it later if he wants. She puts the needs of our staff and students above what she needs to get done. She has gone above and beyond to support him and so many other students, staff members, and families too!


CERTIFICATED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Kendra McAllister - Teacher at Park Place Middle School

karen mcallister & shawn woodward

Kendra started teaching at our school this year and she brought a world of experience with her.  She is one of the most amazing case managers I have ever had the pleasure of working with.  The students that she oversees on her caseload or that she teaches in class are extremely lucky to be a part of her world.  Students know she is a safe space for them and she is able to keep them calm in some really difficult and sensitive moments.  She is clear and direct in her communication and is able to have it come out with a tone that sets students at ease.  I love that her classroom and time is open for anyone to use and her collaboration with students has made it easy for them to get their needs met without barriers.  Along with that she is also extremely organized and detailed with her time during the day and is able to teach her peers, I value her knowledge on interacting with students and adults.  Thank you for setting reasonable expectations and the stability that you bring to your classrooms, Kendra!


Nominate any employee for the MSD Employee Honor Roll HERE