Striving Toward Equitable Communities - Employee Recognitions
Striving Toward Equitable Communities
At East Side, perhaps now more than ever, we need to strive toward Equitable Communities as we pivot toward distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what does this mean? It means that we are continuing to strengthen our understanding, actions, and policies in order to continue building capacity among all staff members to ensure that equity and inclusion are essential principles of our school system.

It is incumbent on each and every one of us as employees of East Side to be committed to these principles, from myself as superintendent, to our teachers, PCIS, attendance clerks, directors, maintenance and operation, and so forth. It takes all of us to achieve success for our students! As coined by philosopher Aristotle, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which aptly describes us as a team joined together in this monumental effort.

Every month, we will be recognizing our employees in order to showcase the people behind our student success! Below are examples of our employees creating Equitable Communities at East Side Union High School District.

Thank you for all that you do!

With gratitude,
Chris D. Funk
Superintendent
Lynn Nguyen
Independence High School
Math Teacher

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked at Independence High School? 14 years.
  2. What do you like most about your job? I like interacting with students. I love to get to know different groups of kids every year. It's always nerve-racking to get to know all of them and their names at the beginning of the year, but it's always amazing how we can build up the connections by the end of the first semester. I love being active in my class where I get to walk around and help students instead of sitting behind the computer inside working on one project after another. To me, the most important thing to do before even teaching is to be able to build my relationship with my students. With students feeling comfortable, they will not be afraid to ask and to get helped.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? Throughout my years of teaching, it was nice to know that most students opened up and talked to me as more than just their teacher. They asked questions on colleges, goals, and career choices. They opened up to talk to me when they have problems at home or relationships.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? To my close friends, I am a funny person. To others, I am a very quiet person. I love to start the day with a good workout and a nice cup of coffee.

Kudos from the Principal:
“Ms. Nguyen is a warm and charismatic teacher. Her students feel cared for and safe with her, she builds in time for students to ask questions and take mental risks. Ms. Nguyen has similarly taken risks for herself taking on our AP Statistics program and accepting new courses and assignments. Lynn is a true Sixer.” - Bjorn Berg, Principal 
Alma Tenedora
Education Center
Program Specialist, Special Services

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked for ESUHSD? 22 years (teacher, department chair, and program specialist).
  2. What do you like most about your job? Watching the educational and social/emotional growth that a student makes when the team has found the right placement. I also enjoy working with my colleagues, and value the knowledge and skills they all bring to the team. I am constantly learning and growing professionally.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? I know I have made a difference when students are able to gain educational benefit from a placement, when they may not have before. Finding the right placement that can provide all the services a student needs can make all the difference. This may be working towards earning a diploma, or gaining basic life skills, depending on the student.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? Outside of work, I have become very involved with animal rescue groups.

Kudos from the Director:
"In her work, Mrs. Tenedora helps to find appropriate school and classroom placements for some of our more challenged students with disabilities. As the most veteran of our five Program Specialists, Alma acts as a leader and mentor to her colleagues in their work as they support students, families, teachers, and administrators in all things related to the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). We are fortunate to have Alma on our team!" - Sharon Cavallaro, Director of Special Services  
Cyprus Nguyen
Silver Creek High School
Paraeducator, SPED Department (Autism Program)

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked at Silver Creek High School? 2 years (8 years total for ESUHSD).
  2. What do you like most about your job? I like to work with Special Ed students, especially those with autism who are in need of a lot of attention and support. They struggle with studies because of their disabilities and I'm happy to help them to learn.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? Their smiles and relief when they finish their assignments tell me they have learned something new.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? I started teaching Martial Arts when I was 16. I'm also a swimming coach at the school site where I work.

Kudos from the Principal: 
"Cyprus Nguyen has gone beyond his job description during distance learning. He provides 1:1 care for a student, assists other paraeducators, and helps the substitute teachers access Zoom and Google classroom. During the beginning of a class, somehow, a student that is non-verbal was the host of the class. The student’s mom only spoke Vietnamese, so I called on Cyprus to help us translate, “have your child logoff, and then log back on.” We successfully regained host privileges, thanks to Cyprus.  

With the variety of subs we had, I asked Cyprus to create a Zoom classroom account and be the primary host until the substitute arrives. He graciously accepted this responsibility, which allowed our families and students to always have the same Zoom address to the classroom without confusion. 

Cyprus is creating equitable communities every day." - Kelly Daugherty, Principal
Oak Grove High School
Counselors

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

How many years have you worked for ESUHSD? Oak Grove High School? 
  • Joyce Armstrong: 14 years; 10 years at Oak Grove. 
  • Martha Esquivel: 25 years; 8 years at Oak Grove. 
  • Kelly Kruger: 7 years, all at Oak Grove.  
  • Binh Lieu: 13 years.
 
What do you like most about your job? 
  • Joyce: Being the biggest cheerleader to all students, but especially those at risk of not graduating.
  • Martha: Working with students.
  • Kelly: I love getting to see the growth students make during their time in high school. It's enjoyable to watch them grow into the young adults they are when they graduate. It's an honor to get to play a small role in that development and be able to walk that pathway with them during their time in high school. 
  • Binh: I enjoy seeing students grow, develop, and achieve their high school graduation or college goals while overcoming obstacles and challenges along their journeys. 
 
How do you know when you have made a difference? 
  • Joyce: When a student comes back to Oak Grove and tells me their dreams came true or changed.
  • Martha: When a 1st generation student has met A-G and I encourage them AND their family to apply - makes a big difference and they start to believe they are capable of obtaining a 4-year degree. ALSO, turning around students at risk and nudging them to the finish line and getting their high school diploma...they are the HAPPIEST on stage at graduation!
  • Kelly: It's often hard to tell when something I've done has made a difference. But I think the easiest way to tell is when a student thanks me for helping them. I appreciate every thank you and keep every thank you card and email I receive. The most obvious is when they come back after they graduated and tell me how much I helped them when they were in high school. :)  
  • Binh: I know I have made a difference when they come into my office with a smile on their face to share good news!
 
What is something that people may not know about you? 
  • Joyce: I retired as an engineer before starting in education.
  • Martha: I worked in Silicon Valley high tech for about 13 years.
  • Kelly: I can't eat garlic (yes, I know *gasp*) and I live in the garlic capital of the world. LOL! 
  • Binh: Prior to working as a school counselor, I was an elementary school teacher. 
 
Kudos from the Principal:  
“Not only is our counseling team helping students navigate from course to course, supporting them socio-emotionally through the struggles that have come with distance learning, and providing them with additional resources to pursue post-high school opportunities, they have really thought outside the box this year to increase the frequency of student to student connections. As a result of the time they have invested fostering strong relationships with students and families, our counselors have excelled at building equitable communities. According to Associate Principal Karen Aragon, “Our counselors are an integral part of our school; their knowledge of post-graduation possibilities, their compassion, empathy, and resolve are all qualities that help support our students belong and be successful at Oak Grove.” 

Our counselors are valuable members of the Oak Grove team and I am thrilled to recognize them for everything they do for the entire school community." - Martha Brazil, Principal 

From left to right: Joyce Armstrong, Martha Esquivel, Kelly Kruger, Binh Lieu
Yerba Buena High School
Advisors

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

Manuel Vasquez
  1. How many years have you worked at Yerba Buena High School? 10 years.
  2. What do you like most about your job? I enjoy providing students with strategies to navigate through challenges and then seeing them utilize them.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? I know I have made a difference when I see students take ownership over their education and personal goals.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? I play guitar and have a corgi.

Hien Doan
  1. How many years have you worked at Yerba Buena High School? 2 years.
  2. What do you like most about your job? Being an available source for students to reach out to during time of need..
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? Seeing improvement in the student's grades or attendance.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? I have a twin brother.

Kudos from the Principal:
“Yerba Buena High School has the best advisor team. Mr. Manuel Vasquez and Mr. Hien Doan are amazing. They have been supporting YB students and parents/guardians in many ways beyonds their duty. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they provide technical support, social-emotional support as well as academic support. Their dedication and hard work by contacting each student and their families to ensure that the students’ needs are met despite COVID-19 pandemic.” - Mary Pollett, Principal

Kudos from the Associate Principal:
“My advisor duo has done an amazing job during this pandemic. As our duties have shifted during distance learning from our primary role of disciplinary and attendance work, to assisting our staff in our transition to Zoom and its features, assisting students and parents on navigating the new schedule and the 6 to 7 Zoom links, Google meet, or Google Classroom links, or simply assisting in logging into their new chromebooks or Hotspots. They have brought in families to show them or performed virtual meetings or even step by step over the phone. My duo has also provided information to parents about services that we provide such as: Mental Wellness, food services and academic needs. In short they have done everything that was expected and much more. Not because they were asked but because they know that our team is focused on serving our student community, For this reason I would like to say thank you.” - Marco Osuna, Associate Principal
Keely Murphy
Mt. Pleasant High School
Social Worker

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked for ESUHSD? 6 years (4 years at MPHS).
  2. What do you like most about your job? Working one-on-one with the students is truly a joy and helping students to not feel so alone is one of the best feelings. I absolutely love that a part of my job is to collaborate with our amazing school staff and unique Mt. Pleasant Community. It is an honor to support our diverse community and I grow so much from my interactions within it.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? I know that I have made a difference when a person feels heard. There is something about the ability to provide space for our students, families, and communities that is incredibly special. When people allow me to support and walk with them I know that an impact has been made.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? Something that many people would not know about me is that I am the daughter of an immigrant from Ireland and I am actually the first person in my immediate family to graduate college.

Kudos from the Associate Principal:
"Ms. Murphy is a compassionate and essential student advocate for supporting Social Emotional Learning and providing mental health support at Mt. Pleasant High School. Her sincere contributions to our site's MTSS team allows us to learn different ways to support our students in the classroom with emotional learning, best practices to build connections and community. Her tireless work with individual counseling, to groups, and her ability to collaborate with our outside service providers to link our students and families with ongoing support, goes above and beyond. Given all her tireless work, she has taken on mentoring an intern. We are very grateful that Ms. Murphy is part of our school community and we will continue to be better with her contributions for years to come." - Mr. Solorzano, Associate Principal   
Kym Quach
Evergreen Valley High School
Attendance Clerk

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked for Evergreen Valley High School? 5 years (15 years total for ESUHSD).
  2. What do you like most about your job? I enjoy working with not only staff but also students and parents with their problems or needs. I have been able to make connections with parents and students for many years and I continue to see them years after they graduate.
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? The way I know that I've have made a difference is that I get responses from parents and students thanking me for all the work that I do for them either by email, in person, or phone.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? Something people may not know about me is that I have a second job with people with special needs providing in-home support for them. I'm very glad to be here working with all the wonderful people of the East Side community.

Kudos from the Principal:
"Ms. Kym is always incredibly kind and cheerful to every student, staff member, and parent she encounters. Parents tell us that she is always approachable and helpful - many parents often come to campus seeking Ms. Kym by name because she has established such meaningful relationships with them. Ms. Kym's kindness and constant cheerfulness help brighten our campus and we are so happy she is on the EVHS team." - Kyle Kleckner, Principal
Ireyal "Rae Rae" Neal
James Lick High School
Campus Monitor

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

  1. How many years have you worked for ESUHSD? 3 years.
  2. What do you like most about your job? What I like most about working at James Lick is helping our students progress to their full capabilities and working with the S.T.A.R.S. Team!
  3. How do you know when you have made a difference? I know I have made a difference when I see a change in students' behavior after my first initial interaction with them.
  4. What is something that people may not know about you? Most people might not know this but my Alma Mater is James Lick High School class of 2015! Go Comets!! :D

Kudos from the Principal:
"Ms. Neal has gone above and beyond her role as Campus Monitor to come to the campus nearly everyday of the whole semester to supervise students who needed to use our school environment to do their distance learning. Her dedication to supporting our students has been unwavering since the beginning of the school year. In addition, Ms. Neal is always willing to help wherever she is needed. Her commitment to the Comet Family is appreciated by the whole community." - Marco Menendez, Principal
Piedmont Hills High School
Physical Education Department

People Behind ESUHSD's Success:

How many years have you worked at Piedmont Hills High School? ESUHSD?
  • Samantha Aochi: 4 years at PHHS and ESUHSD.
  • Greg Boyd: 35 years at PHHS and ESUHSD.
  • Adam Elix: 4 years at PHHS (6 years total for ESUHSD).
  • Jennifer Harris: 18 years at PHHS (19 years total for ESUHSD).
  • Jannelle Jones: 15 years at PHHS and ESUHSD.
  • Matt Kiesle: 34 years at PHHS and ESUHSD.
  • Pete Simos: 15 years at PHHS and ESUHSD.

What do you like most about your job?
  • Samantha: I love watching students achieve their fitness and/or strength goals. The confidence they build through knowledge of nutrition, their bodies and their muscles is my greatest joy in teaching. The feedback from students is 100% positive and I know they look forward to this class everyday. They have even asked for more stretching/yoga and meditation. This tells me they are needing it and welcoming it. In a stressful world, the chance to get up and move, and achieve fitness goals has kept them sane and motivated. I love my job.....and knowing that I am helping our younger generations understand and focus on health now, rather than later, fills my heart.
  • Pete: I love helping students learn how to enjoy and live a healthy lifestyle in terms of fitness.
How do you know when you have made a difference?
  • Jennifer: I know when I have made a difference when I receive positive feedback and gratitude from my students, especially during distance learning.
  • Matt: It is a reaffirming experience to run into a former student or player and have them tell me that they enjoyed their time at PHHS and/or in my class or on my team.
What is something that people may not know about you? 
  • Adam: Something people may not know about me is that both my parents have disabilities and I have grown up in the disability community. I have worked in the field for over 25 years and realized early on this is my passion. I have coached many different disability sports, but my favorite would be wheelchair basketball. Also, because my parents were great wheelchair athletes, I have been able to travel the world. My mom was a 3 time national table tennis champion, and paralympian and my dad was a paralympic wheelchair basketball player.
  • Greg: I played college football, barefoot water ski and competed in slalom water skiing.

Kudos from the Principal:
“I am so impressed and proud of the work the PHHS Physical Education Department has done since our move to distance learning. Over the summer I received so many emails from parents asking how PE can possibly be taught virtually. This department has proved that not only can they teach virtually, they can excel at it. They have embraced new technology platforms that they absolutely did not have experience with in their regular, “normal”, teaching environment. They are teaching their students the importance of fitness as a stress management tool and have focused their curriculum on social-emotional learning. If our students are managing to thrive in this very difficult time, it is in large part to the PHHS PE Department.” - Ginny Davis, Principal

Top row: Samantha Aochi, Greg Boyd, Adam Elix
Bottom row: Jennifer Harris, Matt Kiesle, Pete Simos
Not pictured: Jannelle Jones
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If you have positive stories about teachers, staff, students and exciting events at your site, we'd like to know about it. Email Linda Ornelas at [email protected].