|-|In honor of Classified Employee Appreciation Week, the Capistrano Unified School District held its annual awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 19th to honor 75 classified employees who were nominated by their supervisors and colleagues to serve as Classified Employees of the Year.
Held in the beautiful San Juan Hills High School Theater, the Schools First Credit Union and CUSD announced the following district-level winners who will advance to the county competition sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education.
Michelle Eppler – Campus Support Services
Ms. Eppler serves as a supervisor for the Center for Special Instruction (CSI) program at Don Juan Avila Middle School and is described as being a wonderful asset to the staff. She works tirelessly to motivate students to improve their academic standing and citizenship while being a compassionate role model. Ms. Eppler truly takes interest in each student as an individual and has, in turn, gained their respect. She is reliable, humorous, passionate, and irreplaceable.
Connie Colwell – District Office Support Services
Mrs. Colwell serves as an Intermediate Office Assistant at the district’s education center and is gifted in her ability to organize, systematize, and communicate. She is proactive and often answers questions before one can even finish a sentence. Providing support to each of our schools’ music programs, she is described as “tireless” and “tirelessly patient.” She is the consummate professional who believes that her job is to serve unselfishly and is never too busy to provide support to those who need it.
Mary Johnson – Food and Nutrition Services
Ms. Johnson is a food service cashier at Kinoshita Elementary and is credited with taking her responsibilities for providing great customer service very seriously, greeting each student by name. In turn, she has developed a great rapport with those she serves, including students, staff, and administration. Mary has gone above and beyond the call of duty, implementing programs such as “Let’s Eat Healthy” focusing on the importance of choosing healthy foods, and “Let’s Exercise” encouraging students to participate in organized tournaments to keep them fit. She is considered to be
the “Guru of Funding” and helps to raise funds in her spare time to support the Dana Hills High School basketball team.
Angela Jent- Instructional Support Services
Ms. Jent serves as an instructional aide in the Adult Transition Program and has been with CUSD for the past 10 years. She consistently demonstrates an exceptionally high level of skill, knowledge and personal motivation in fulfilling the multi-faceted requirements of her position. She has an uncompromising commitment to students and works passionately to support those with a wide range of special needs. She has been flexible in the face of adversity and exhibits an unwavering positive attitude. Outside of work, Ms. Jent has been active in several local community groups specializing in providing services for students with disabilities, such as the Best Buddies Club at Saddleback College, the High Rollers Club, the Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity.
Tyler Braun – Maintenance Services
Having served the past 12 years as an electrician for M & O, Tyler has demonstrated a strong commitment to safety and customer service. He often goes out of his way to identify problems and fix them before they are ever noticed. Amidst years of budget cuts, he has stepped up to the plate to serve and get it all done. Outside of work, Tyler serves as a coach at one of our local schools and dedicates countless hours to support our students.
James Galvan – Operations Services
Mr. Galvan is committed to customer service. He consistently performs above expectations in his role as a custodian at San Clemente High School and extends the concept of the Professional Learning Community across the campus. He empowers others and takes pride in being a servant leader. During the South Orange County firestorm of 2007, Mr. Galvan opened the San Clemente High School Gymnasium to fleeing evacuees and remained on the campus throughout the night in service to our community. He is the embodiment of the San Clemente High School Motto to “make every day count.”
Gerri Belletti – School Office Services
Ms. Belletti currently serves as the Office Manager at Don Juan Avila Elementary School and has worked for CUSD for the past 10 years. She’s been known to dress up as Clifford the Big Red Dog to promote reading. Ms. Belletti is committed to putting children first and is always sure to put the “fun” in learning. She is an integral part of the school community and has served as an active PTA president, room mom and school site council member outside of her current job description. Ms. Belletti is described as being a great team player and one of the most important members of her school campus. Her positive demeanor and professional decorum are appreciated and respected.
Rafael Murillo – Transportation Services
Mr. Murillo fulfills his transportation duties without a blemish and ensures that students arrive at school safely and on time. His distinguishing qualities are his care, communication and team spirit. He is so well liked by those on his route that on his birthday, a group of parents demanded that he get out of the bus so they could sing to him and present him with a basket of gifts. He has gone above and beyond to establish positive relationships with those he serves. He is humble and dedicated and takes pride in his work, knowing it’s truly all about the kids.
Nominees for Classified Employee of the Year:
Campus Support
Michelle Eppler, Opportunity Assistant
Corey Gonsalves, Academic Advisor
Kathi Kam, Academic Advisor
Audra Lee, Academic Advisor
Keith Meastas, CSI Coordinator
Cassandra Ondryas, Academic Advisor
Rosa Perez, Student Supervisor
Judy Rasmussen, Academic Advisor
Maureen Scherf, Head Academic Advisor
District Office Support
Connie Colwell, Intermediate Office Assistant
Marilu Daum, Bilingual Staff Secretary
Roger Kotow, Technology Support Specialist
Food & Nutrition Services
Tom Cooper, Warehouse Lead
Terry Hause, Food Service Lead II
Mary Johnson, Cashier
Karen Nelson, Food Service Worker
Maria Ortiz, Cashier
Octavio Rodriguez, Driver
Instructional Support Services
Patty Becker, Independence Facilitator
Wendy Cazin, Speech-Language Pathology Asst.
Claudia Cisternas, Bilingual Community Services Liaison
Teri Entsminger, Independence Facilitator
Barbara Goodwin, ELD Aide
Melinda Harwood, Independence Facilitator
Myrna Hernandez, Bilingual Aide
Angela Jent, Instructional Aide
Cynthia Kahl, Instructional Aide
Beverly Kromer, Instructional Aide
Julie Milano, RSP Aide
Diane Richman, Instructional Aide
Renee Sanchez, Library Media Technician
Nancy Scheckel, Independence Facilitator
Maria-Lourdes Stanley, Independence Facilitator
Nita Talbot, Interpreter for the Hearing Impaired
Pam Wright, Independence Facilitator
Maintenance Services
Tyler Braun, Electrician
Operations Services
Jon Bones, Custodian
Rene Catanghal, Custodian
James Galvan, Lead Custodian II
Eddie Gardea, Lead Custodian II
Nahum Lagunas, Lead Custodian II
Leticia Mejia, Custodian I
Ricardo Montez, Grounds Keeper
Isaac Morales, Custodian I
Gary Okuma, Pesticide Applicator Technician
Henry Rhodes, Custodian
Rigoberto Umana-Choto, Custodian I
School Office Services
Adriana Allard, Elementary School Clerk
Karen Baker, Attendance Clerk
Gerri Belletti, Office Manager
Nancy Geiger, Office Manager
Joanne Gethers, Office Manager
Bianca Gomez, Secretary II
Susan Grant, Office Manager
Darla Jones, School Secretary II
Dee Keck, Clerk
J.R. Longdon, Receptionist
Jill McBride, Office Manager
Patti Miller, Activities Account Clerk
Patricia Morris, School Clerk II
Diane Peters, Office Clerk
Rita Pyle, Secretary I
Magdalena Romero, Bilingual Community Services Liaison
Lynda Sherman, Secretary I
Amanda Stayberg, Attendance Clerk
Heidi Tyler, Receptionist
Yolanda Villarreal, Activities Account Clerk
Patrice Wexelberg, School Clerk
Transportation
Curtis Goodwin, Heavy-Duty Mechanic
Charlene Huber, Transportation Dispatch
Myronel Hughes, Bilingual IOA
Wagih Issac, Lead Driver
Rafael Murillo, School Bus Driver
Lisa Rial, School Bus Driver
Octavio Rodriguez,
Molly Thoman, Lead
Submitted By;
Julie Hatchel
