Congratulations to these amazing staff members who were nominated in September for their above-and-beyond service to our students, staff, families, and community. Please join us in thanking them for their exceptional service!
One employee from each employee category (Certificated, Classified, and Administrator) is selected each month by the Superintendent's Executive Cabinet as the Employees of the Month. These employees will be announced in a separate news article.
CERTIFICATED
Amber Ortiz
Teacher at Sky Valley Education Center
Amber dedicates an incredible amount of time and energy, above and beyond what is required of her, for the students, families, and staff of Sky Valley all of which she truly loves. Her commitment to the SVEC community is mind boggling!
Stephanie Hudson
Teacher at Monroe High School
Nomination #1: Stephanie is the incredibly hard working rock of the CTE department at Monroe High School. We affectionately call her "Mom" because we go to her when we're angry, scared, frustrated and she will always take the time to talk with us about whatever it is and if it is a solvable issue, she will help us get to that solution. She has been in the district longer than most of the rest of the department so she seems to know everything, but what few things she doesn't know, she figures out. We wouldn't be what we are without her.
Nomination #2: Ms. Hudson goes above and beyond every day to bring the Mission of High School PLUS for ALL to life at MHS. She is available before and after school for students and staff. Her room is always open for students who need support, a break or time to connect. Ms. Hudson played an integral role in helping our school launch successfully and continues to lead the technical shifts to provide intentional intervention time for all students during the school day. Her attention to detail and problem-solving skills are unmatched. We are so lucky to have her at the high school and we want all of our community to know what an awesome job she does for students and staff each and every day.
Bridget James
Teacher at Salem Woods Elementary
Bridget has done an incredible job welcoming all of her students to start the year and establishing fantastic routines and accommodations for students who need them. She has been wonderful to collaborate with!
Chelsea McKinley
Teacher at Maltby Elementary
Chelsea is a 1st year teacher this year at Maltby Elementary, and has also been a para for several years prior. I've worked with her in both capacities and she's an incredible asset to MSD. Her calm demeanor and understanding of each student's variety of needs are beyond measure. I'm looking forward to her future of helping many students in the years to come.
JeNell Buchanan
Counselor at Sky Valley Education Center
JeNell wrote a grant to provide staff with Edge Foundation in-school coaches training, which was extremely well attended and appreciated by staff! This research based approach to work with students supports their executive function development and growth of a whole person - not just a student.Staff LOVED the training!
Hannah Huber
Teacher at Chain Lake Elementary
Hannah applied for and accepted this position with the excitement and energy that she brings to each art class throughout the day. She created a cozy, inviting and organized classroom and filled it to the brim with various art supplies. She has a space in her room that honors one of Chain Lake's forever students- Kaci Edelbrock. She has even made time (during a break) for the one classroom that she doesn't see. All of the other kids in the school have been working on a couple of collaborated projects. It was important to her that ALL kids were included. She is doing all of this while being a busy mom to 3 busy kids and going to school to earn her Masters in Education as well as her Teaching Certification. Monroe School District is fortunate to have such a dedicated staff member.
Rachael From
SLP at Salem Woods Elementary
Rachael is consistently open to collaborating so that all of our SLC students across the district get the services and support they need.
Shawn Hill
Teacher at Park Place Middle School
Shawn has been committed to creating and establishing an awesome middle school routine for many of our new 6th grade students. In the short amount of time we've been back in school, our 6th grade pbs students have shown great improvement with the constant support and dedication of Shawn Hill.
Ginger Addicott
Teacher at Chain Lake Elementary
Ginger Addicott is a teacher that truly gives her all every single day. She is positive, caring, and engaging from students to staff. As a teacher on the same 3rd grade team, I am inspired daily. Mrs. Addicott pushes me to be a better educator by her example. When we plan together as a team, the passion for education and student achievement is her motivation. Mrs. Addicott loves teaching and learning! If you want to talk about children's books, she's your person. I recently found out that Mrs. Addicott comes from a long generation of educators and seeing the pride she carries in that is touching. If you were to peek into Mrs. In Addicott's classroom you would hear the singing of math fact songs, experience heartfelt tears over the love of a book she is reading, and see student work proudly displayed from floor to ceiling. I proudly nominate my teammate Ginger Addicott for her commitment to both student and teaching learning.
CLASSIFIED
Karen Overturf
Custodian at Fryelands Elementary
Karen went above and beyond during her busy summer cleaning to help with a few of my classroom set-up issues in August. Her help with "the heavy and the high stuff" helped me do the other things to create an amazing environment for my students! Thank you, Karen!
Fabiola Solano-Weide
Paraeducator at Frank Wagner Elementary
Fabi went above and beyond this summer by helping school staff label books in the library, organize food for staff meetings as they returned to the building and is always the first staff member to help support in any way that she can.
Erin Strong
Paraeducator PBS at Frank Wagner Elementary
Erin is a strong advocate for the students she works with. She is accepting, supportive and challenges the students to do well. Students who normally struggle at school were looking forward to her coming back as they knew a classroom with her in it would be a safe place.
Lisa Bednarik
Office Support at Park Place Middle School
Lisa has been amazing for the beginning of the year. She has been inundated with new enrollments and is amazing and quick with her work. She collaborates with all school staff to make sure students and families have everything they need.
Nancy Ostrom
Technology Support
Nancy has gone over and above to help me on numerous occasions, even when I wasn't "assigned" to her. She has figured out "work arounds" to get me by and given me quick tips to help me get my job done so that I can help my students do theirs. Her willingness to help and humor makes her a SUPER STAR in my book!
Amber Mehta
Family Liaison at Frank Wagner Elementary
Amber is always going above and beyond to support our students, staff and families. Her hard work does not go unnoticed. Our school is lucky to have her!
Yami Swearingen
Paraeducator at Fryelands Elementary
Yami is always looking for, thinks of, and executes ways to celebrate our students. She champions students taking pride in themselves and the cultures they come from. Most recently, Yami took the initiative and put together beautiful displays around our school to help promote and celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. She has been talking with our MLL students throughout our school and getting them to produce more comprehensible output about what it means to be Hispanic, what makes them proud about their heritage and why. Not only are those students relishing the opportunity to shine but our whole school community is enjoying learning more about the independence that several Hispanic nations have achieved and the interdependence of LatinX groups which add so much beauty to our American tapestry.
Stefanie Preston, Kelly Schwindt & Sybil Rauschkolb
Payroll/ Human Resources at District Administration Office
This nomination is for their help and expertise in handling a delicate situation with a staff member in distress. They immediately sprang into action, gathered the needed information, and got the ball rolling to help the staff member. I am deeply appreciative of these 3 ladies for their outstanding service!
Kayla Luke
Special Programs Support at District Administration Office
Kayla, leaving her wheels on the bus, has come into our department ready and raring to go. She is a very quick study, willing to learn new things ALL. THE. TIME. Truly, Kayla is an asset to our district office and the most favorite part of my day is when Kayla comes over to ask how she can help. Nothing lightens and brightens my day more than this!
ADMINISTRATOR
Chris Cronas
Executive Director of Categorical Programs & Elementary Education at District Administration Office
During our August days Chris stepped in and adopted the Salem Woods Staff when our amazing principal wasn't able to be there. He did an amazing job of facilitating and sharing information with us. It was wonderful getting to know him and learning from the wealth that he has. I was also lucky to sit at the same table as him during our Courageous Conversations training and he was so helpful. Thank you Chris!
Keith Welton
Director at Technology
Keith Welton has tirelessly placed the needs of students, staff, and the community above his own. Whether it's coordinating and distributing the thousands of Chromebooks to students or the late nights he spends hosting board board meetings; Keith is the kind of employee and person we should all make an effort to be. He will be truly missed.
Ana Apter
Principal at Chain Lake Elementary
The Communications Department launched a new mass communication platform for families this year and Ana Apter has rocked the implementation of ParentSquare at Chain Lake Elementary. While this alone is a celebration, what prompted a nomination was the number of families that have called and stopped in to sing their praises about the new communication tool at Chain Lake. One that stuck out was a family that said they have never felt connected to a school more than they do now because of ParentSquare and that they now feel very comfortable sending their child to school, where in the past they were fearful because they didn't know what was going on at school. Ana has also been gracious during implementation and worked with the Communications Department to problem solve issues that have come up along the way. Way to go Ana!
Nominate any Monroe School District employee for exceptional service HERE.