SUSD Employees of the Year, 2019

To be honored at Thursday’s Board Meeting at Redwood, 7 p.m.

Dear Parents, Staff and Community,

What a pleasure it is to share with you the 2018-2019 District Teachers and Classified Employees of the Year for each of our schools and the District Office! Many thanks to the following stand-out staff members who peers believe have gone above-and-beyond in their service to students and the school community this year. If there is a common quality that comes through in all the nomination narratives, it is:

They do great work because they are totally committed to what they do!

Please join our Board of Trustees and me in thanking, honoring and celebrating our District’s 2019 Employees of the Year at this Thursday’s Board Meeting at the Redwood Middle School Library, May 9, at 7:00 p.m.

With sincere gratitude for our exemplary staff,

Nancy Johnson, Superintendent

Argonaut Elementary School

Matt Weber, Argonaut Teacher of the Year

Since 1998, Mr. Weber has made learning fun, meaningful and real for his Argonaut students. He actively engages with his third-graders in the classroom and on the playground, authors non-fiction books to enhance his students’ learning and cultivates gamesmanship and cooperative play through four-square, handball and frisbee. He has served for many years as a teacher leader at both school and district levels; and his colleagues appreciate him for his voice of reason, out-of-the-box creativity, thinking and problem-solving.

Bridget Parr, Argonaut Classified Employee of the Year

In her role as Science Instructional Aide at Argonaut, Ms. Parr is renowned for her ability to develop lab experiences that are highly interactive while supporting teachers’ grade-level Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) curriculum. Teachers appreciate Ms. Parr for her patience, kindness and gentleness with students, especially in the context of their busy, exuberant explorations and experimentation. Outside Argo’s lab, Ms. Parr participates in National Charity League, her church’s Sunday School, and various sports in support of her daughters and their friends.

Foothill Elementary School

Connie Weber, Foothill Teacher of the Year

For the past 20 years, Ms. Weber has been an early-adopter of innovative teaching strategies and technologies, and she is appreciated by her colleagues for her inspirational can-do spirit and encouragement. Ms. Weber empowers her first graders to take ownership of their own learning goals and progress. She lovingly instills self-confidence and independence in her young students as she teaches them design thinking and experimentation in Foothill’s Fab Lab. Parents enjoy her real-time videos and photos that connect them with their student’s day at school.

Ramona Paiva, Foothill Classified Employee of the Year

Ms. Paiva’s multiple nominations district-wide showcase the many ways in which she has contributed to children’s learning and staff members’ morale. Ms. Paiva serves children with special needs and is uniquely successful in using her calm, positive and kind teaching methods to accommodate each child’s optimal learning style. Ms. Paiva has also served Foothill as a Care Committee leader and the Saratoga Classified Employees Association as a representative and association negotiator. She has been named the 2019 Santa Clara County Para-educator/Instructional Assistant of the Year!

Redwood Middle School

Alexis Nesper, Redwood Teacher of the Year

Ms. Nesper is a high-energy educator who readily makes herself available to her students and colleagues as a listener, encourager, and thought-partner. She motivates her students by both her warmth and her innovative, high-interest language arts and social studies lessons, which she also generously shares with fellow teachers. This year, Ms. Nesper is the yearbook advisor and major organizer of student-staff spirit rallies, staff-to-staff appreciation activities, and the refreshment of the staff meeting and workroom environments. Ms. Nesper’s contributions make Redwood a great place to be for the whole community.

Debb Dallas, Redwood Classified Employee of the Year

Ms. Dallas, Instructional Aide, is dedicated to ensuring that students in the special education program have a fun school experience while maintaining their focus on academics and growth. She is especially adept at helping students with self-organization and as a facilitator of communication between students and their parents, so that parents can better understand how to support their student’s campus life. Ms. Dallas attends many after-school activities as a strong show of support for Redwood students, their families and staff.

Saratoga Elementary School

Judy Wolthausen, Saratoga School Teacher of the Year

During the past 23 years, Ms. Wolthausen has created diverse pathways for students to demonstrate their learning and she treats each child with both empathy and high expectations. Likewise, she consistently serves her colleagues as a trusted mentor, confidant and provider of hospitality. This year, Ms. Wolthausen collaborated with Saratoga Elementary parents to offer an extra-curricular girls’ leadership program to help students develop healthy self-identity, relationships, communication styles, and resiliency. She is also the teacher liaison to PTA and has given generously of her personal time this spring to the community’s Measure “A” campaign.

Stella Pak, Saratoga School Classified Employee of the Year

School Secretary Ms. Pak knows each of Saratoga’s 330+ students by name, and one of her several nominators states, she makes each student who enters the office “feel like the center of the universe.” Another nominator observes that because of Ms. Pak’s extraordinary dedication and effort, “the SES community feels that our school is an extension of their homes, and not a public school building. This feeling is only possible by Ms. Pak’s endless support and involvement with our students, families and campus activities.”

District

Carlos Jiron, Classified Employee of the Year (Maintenance, Operations and Facilities)

Since 2010, Custodian Mr. Jiron has modeled an extraordinary personal and professional investment in the health, safety and well-being of students and staff. He splits his time between Redwood and the District Office where he assists school staff with physical set-up, and cleaning and security of buildings at both sites. Mr. Jiron is kindly protective of late-working staff members, and his colleagues. This year, he voluntarily rearranged his work schedule to assist a colleague on an emergency leave. For these and many more reasons, Mr. Jiron has also been named as Santa Clara County’s 2019 Maintenance, Operations and Facilities Employee of the Year.

Patti Wareham, Classified Employee of the Year (Office and Technical Support)

Compensation Specialist Ms. Wareham expertly labors over the endless and changeable details of all employees’ compensation every month. Whether she is assisting a new mom with her understanding of maternity leave provisions or helping a grieving family navigate insurance and benefits, Ms. Wareham takes the time to understand each person’s payroll situation, research options, and patiently explain how compensation must be calculated. Ms. Wareham is an invaluable team-player with great heart!

Sue Westphal, Classified Employee of the Year (Child Nutrition)

Ms. Westphal’s nominators describe her as an unsung hero who receives food deliveries for our students at 5:00 a.m., warmly connects with Redwood and Saratoga students at meals, and makes herself available in emergencies, such as the weather-related power outage at Redwood this winter. She worked into the night to transfer food requiring refrigeration to a nearby district to avoid food loss and disruption of meals for our students. Ms. Westphal knows our students and deeply cares about their daily access to nutritional food in support of their learning.

Please join us in recognizing and celebrating these stellar staff members at the Board of Trustees meeting this Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the Redwood Middle School Library.

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Saratoga Union School District

Email: communication@saratogausd.org
Website: saratogausd.org
Location: 20460 Forrest Hills Drive, Saratoga, CA, USA
Phone: (408) 867-3424
Facebook: facebook.com/saratogausd
Twitter: @saratoga_usd