Superintendent's Award: Service / Excellence / Equity

SERVICE: Miki Tsumura, Kitchen Manager, Hilltop Heritage Elementary School

Before the opening of the new Hilltop Heritage Elementary last school year, Miki dedicated herself to countless hours of additional work to have the school ready for students, families, and staff including unpacking and placement of all the many kitchen tools and appliances. She also worked hard to ensure students and families knew her and understood she was there to support them, especially regarding student food allergies. Miki continues her work to be a major part of the school’s learning environment by visiting students in classrooms and teaching lessons on her job as a kitchen manager. Miki also works at Renton Memorial Stadium on select evenings to serve concessions to students and families attending games and helps with occasional catering orders that operate on evenings and weekends. Miki is always going above and beyond for students and families and does it all with a positive and kind attitude.

EXCELLENCE: Dr. Becca L'Amour, Career and Technical Education (CTE) Instructional Coach

Becca has served for two years as the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Instructional Coach supporting CTE teachers, many of whom are many new to teaching coming directly from various industries. This year Becca also added responsibilities of induction for all the district’s new teachers. She and her team created and presented an amazing New Hire Orientation for our new teachers, and she continues to provide weekly instructional tips and other regular trainings. Each day her focus is on supporting our new hires, so that they become amazing educators, who will stay in our district for many years.

EQUITY: Laura deLeeuw, Special Education, Risdon Middle School

Laura plays a vital role in connecting families and schools, especially with special education. Her ability to connect on a deep, empathetic level with families fosters trust and open communication, which is essential for the success of students with unique needs. Laura's exceptional organizational skills enable her to manage responsibilities across four schools, juggling the diverse and complex demands of each while maintaining a high standard of care and attention. Her commitment extends beyond her assigned duties, as she consistently offers her help during school transitions to ensure students feel safe and welcomed. Laura’s tireless efforts and her impact on both staff and families truly make her an indispensable pillar of support within the district.

SERVICE: Salina Enebrad, School Bus Driver

Salina Enebrad’s quick action and knowledge of first aid recently saved an elementary student from a medical emergency. As students were loading onto her bus for the afternoon ride home, Salina saw one student panicking after candy became lodged in her throat. Salina didn’t hesitate and immediately rushed to aid the student and start using the Heimlich maneuver to expel the item. Once removed, Salina calmed the student, helped her catch her breath, and assisted her off the bus. Emergency medical personnel were called and examined the student for any injuries. She was given a clean bill of health and taken home by her parents.

EXCELLENCE: New Skyward Implementation Team

This summer’s transition to New Skyward was an incredibly big lift for many in the district. As they worked to ensure planning, data migration, security, training, and more were in place for the migration to the new data system, one of the priorities for the New Skyward Implementation Team was ensuring that all 3,000+ district staff were paid on time and correctly. This group of employees worked tirelessly to not only prepare for the migration by cleaning up many thousands of pieces of data, but also checking all data after the migration and running and testing regular procedures that come with monthly payroll processing. There was a lot of pressure to do it quickly and get it right. The good news is that the first payroll out of New Skyward was a success. Ensuring staff were paid properly and on time meant that our staff could focus not on missing paychecks, but instead on teaching, leading, supporting, cleaning, driving, and all the things we do each day to provide high-quality education for our students.

 

EQUITY: District Dual Language Implementation Team

Talbot Hill Elementary School, led by Principal Kaitlyn Lautman and Dual Language Teachers Mirna Meoño, Annya Restrepo, Jonathan Hernández, and Abby Lee, recently celebrated the culmination of many months of hard work to establish the district’s new Dual Language program. The celebration included families, students, staff, and guests enjoying performances by students in the program, guest speakers, and the Chilean dance group Los Rebeldes da la Cueca.

The Talbot Hill Dual Language program, brought to our district after years of hard work by Linda Hoste and Norma Taylor, is the first of its kind in the district and provides students with literacy and content in English and Spanish. The goals of dual language education are to help students become bilingual and biliterate with high levels of proficiency in both languages, perform at or above grade level in academic areas in both languages, and develop positive cross-cultural attitudes and global understanding.

SERVICE: RSD Transportation Team. 

On Tuesday morning, May 14^th, an explosive truck fire on I-405 caused a massive backup and pushed traffic to side streets throughout Renton. The incident caused school buses to be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and late getting to their student pick-up locations. Our Transportation staff quickly reacted to the problem as drivers picked-up students not on their regular routes and used their layover time to get to students waiting at stops. Additionally, routers and other office staff worked to control bus traffic to move buses through congested areas and relay where students were left waiting. Finally, some dispatchers drove buses to help cover routes. It was a full team effort and a show of service to ensure our students arrived safely at school.

EXCELLENCE: Danica McLain, school nurse; Josh Willecke, PE teacher; Farley Haruo, security; Rashaad Powell, assistant principal; Carmen Trezza, office manager; and John Holbrook, district security.

Earlier this year, a Renton High School student was found unresponsive by classmates during PE class after suffering a cardiac event. The school nurse, Danica McLain, quickly responded and began conducting CPR. Other staff joined in the life-saving work including using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to revive the student. Emergency medical personnel arrived and transported the student to Seattle Children’s Hospital where he was treated for several days. Thanks to the work of these quick-acting professionals, the student has made a full recovery and returned to school.

EQUITY: Jenny Garcia, Office Assistant, Honey Dew Elementary.

Jenny is known as the light and glue that keeps Honey Dew’s front office operating smoothly. Her bilingual Spanish/English language skills allow her to genuinely welcome each family into school and provide high-quality service to meet their individual needs. Jenny goes out of her way to provide support for students when they arrive in the office and is even present on the playground to help guide students. Her work is efficient and high quality, and she even shares her artistic flair by creating beautiful, colorful bulletin boards to brighten school spaces.

Renton Schools Superintendent Dr. Damien Pattenaude recently had the privilege to recognize shining examples of our district Core Values of Service, Excellence, and Equity. These staff are recognized by their peers as caring, humble, and hard working individuals.

SERVICE: District Custodians and Maintenance Staff

In mid-January, during the region’s record-breaking cold snap, several of our schools experienced frozen and burst water pipes which led to damage to some classrooms and school ceilings, walls, and carpets. Our dedicated team of custodians and maintenance staff worked diligently through the MLK weekend to clean up the water and repair walls and ceilings to allow all schools to open on time as we returned from the long weekend. They continued to work for weeks to ensure all water was removed and make other repairs. We appreciate these hard working staff members for doing work to keep schools safe, clean and healthy during the school day, and we recognize the commitment they have to go the extra mile when called upon.

EXCELLENCE: Kiana Mieldon, Paraeducator ILC, Dimmitt Middle School

Kiana is unwavering in her dedication to support the students in her classroom, specifically her work with her 1:1 student who, with her dedicated work, has shown tremendous growth in his learning. Kiana consistently develops meaningful relationships with her students and demonstrates a great amount of leadership in her classroom. She is also working on her own time to becoming a certified teacher.

EQUITY: Laura Olszewski, Teacher ILC, Talbot Hill Elementary

Laura is an educator committed to equity and ensuring that each of her students has access to high-quality instruction and services every day. She believes deeply in the abilities of all her students and they make tremendous growth each year, all while feeling deeply cared for and seen as individuals. Laura collaborates with so many people to ensure her students have access to resources, including transportation, medical needs, outside therapists, and food/housing needs. Laura is truly committed to each of her students and their families and opens opportunities and possibilities for them through her dedicated hard work.

For the month of October, 2022, I had the privilege to recognize four shining examples of our Core Values of Service, Excellence, and Equity. Beyond epitomizing these three words, they are also caring, humble, and hard working. It is an honor to highlight them as recipients of the Superintendent’s Awards.

SERVICE: Adriana Munoz, Custodian, Campbell Hill Elementary

When an unexpected plumbing problem recently caused a substantial water backup at Campbell Hill Elementary School, custodian Adriana Munoz quickly and skillfully responded. Her work to immediately begin setting up containment equipment barriers, removing water, and contacting the district maintenance office for additional support, was vital to ensuring damage to the school building was minimal and families were less affected by additional days of school closure. Adriana continued to work hard through the day and evening to remove water and ensure the school was cleaned and sanitized for the return of Campbell Hill students and staff. Her work is indicative of the care and professionalism of our school custodial and maintenance staff.

EXCELLENCE: Alyssa Singh, Nurse, Meadow Crest Early Learning Childhood

As a nurse at Meadow Crest Early Learning Center, Alyssa Singh is the first school nurse that many families work with as their student enters the school system. Many students at the preschool have significant health needs. Alyssa’s professionalism, care, and comforting demeanor help parents of a medically fragile or complex student feel comfortable sending their child off to school. One parent said Alyssa always goes above and beyond to support her child’s health needs to ensure he’s ready to attend school, adding, “I am sure Alyssa shows this level of dedication to all students and families at Meadow Crest.”

EQUITY: Audita Brockett, District Interpreter Coordinator

Audita Brockett manages the district’s Spanish hotline and coordinates interpreter services for all district staff and families. She makes herself available to respond to parent concerns, interpret school and district communications, and works to ensure families feel comfortable sending their children to school. During the nearly two years of the pandemic the call volume to her office was vast as families needed translation of the many communications regarding COVID-related restrictions, in-home learning, and assistance with family needs like food and shelter. Audita followed-through with every family who had questions and concerns, and to connect them with the appropriate services. She always conducts her work with a smile and exudes patience and care to remove language barriers for our families.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION:

SERVICE: Cindy Nguyen, Dimmitt Middle School, 6^th grade

Dimmitt Middle School 6^th-grader Cindy Nguyen finished eating lunch recently and as she headed out to the playground with the other students, she noticed the work that the school custodian and others were doing to clean up after students and get ready for the next group of students. She felt she could spend her time more constructively by assisting in the clean-up rather than out on the playground, so she asked if she could help.

After a couple of days, other students saw Cindy at work and asked if they, too, could spend their time helping tidy up their school. Now, a half dozen students have joined together after their lunch period to sweep up trash and bus and clean tables, as a way, they say, to be helpful, kind, and show their pride in their school.

Cindy’s work and commitment to her school is an example for us all that we can always find ways to better serve others. 

For the month of October, Renton Schools Superintendent Dr. Damien Pattenaude had the privilege to recognize these outstanding staff who live our District's Core Values of Service, Excellence, and Equity.

This month, we were joined by Seattle Seahawks and their corporate sponsors Delta Airlines as we celebrated our staff. The Seahawks are partnering with our district this season to engage with students through a variety of activities, events, and unique experiences to highlight exemplary student achievement, boost morale, amplify school events, and have fun.  As a result of this partnership, this month's Superintendent Award winners also received a personalized football and Seahawks jersey, and two roundtrip tickets to anywhere in the U.S. by Delta Airlines.

Service: Connie Jourdan, School Bus Driver

Connie has showed her commitment to service by safely bringing students to school and home again for 24 years.

Students and families across the district have grown up with Connie during her more than two decades of valuable service. She epitomizes the care and commitment of our professional school bus drivers who are the first in our district to greet students each day. Along with her longevity, Connie has an impeccable safe driving record, showing that she takes great care in her work and for the children in her care each day.

 

Excellence: Creed Nelson, Industrial Technology Teacher, Lindbergh High School

Creed is a dedicated, consummate professional who instills knowledge, skill, and confidence in all of his students. His work to help students understand their strengths and abilities and connect instructional activities to areas of interest have helped students explore a variety of career options for life beyond high school. Creed works to connect local business and industry professionals with his students to further strengthen the importance of classroom instruction with real-world application and opportunity. His work continues to help students envision their future and move forward to become happy, productive members of our community.

 

Equity: Kristin Parrott, Special Education (ILC) Teacher, Sierra Heights Elementary School

Kristin is a child-centered educator who cares deeply for the children in her care. Her thoughtful, gentle manner helps to calmly guide each student in her classroom to provide them with opportunities and experiences necessary to become capable, self-reliant, self-motivated and life-long-learners. Her compassion, adaptability, and knowledge of best practices of her work are greatly revered and appreciated by parents, families, and colleagues. Kristin's willingness to go above and beyond her daily responsibilities to support staff and students in her school has long endeared her to her school colleagues. Kristin is a model for all.