The Lucerne Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees presented Employee of the Month awards to teacher Jacqueline Lopez and food services staff member Stacia Hartwell during the regular school board meeting on October 10.
Superintendent Peter Livingston presented the awards followed by a photo session with the board members.
Livingston shared portions of Lopez’s recommendation letter by LVES Principal Burt Umstead and Student Educational Services Coordinator Vici Miller.
“Ms. Lopez is a fine educator,” according to the nomination. “She is charged with guiding some of our most challenging students. Jackie has been with us for two years and has proven to be dedicated, relevant, engaging, and just all around supportive of her students. She continually goes above and beyond the call of duty. She has taken advantage of every training and learning opportunity that has been presented to her.”
Moreover, according to the nomination letter, “Her classroom is a wonderful place of support for her students with very high emotional and academic needs. Jacqueline has immersed herself in the culture of our school and is always willing to help support our school as a whole. We even had the opportunity to meet Jackie s brother, who is a new LAPD officer. She brought him in as a resource to help support our students as well. I’m excited to see what the future holds for Ms. Lopez here at LVES.”
Hartwell was accompanied by her supervisor and nominator, Cindy Lattin-Oliveira.
“I picked Stacia for employee of the month because she’s really stepped it up this year,” according to her nomination letter. “We have given Stacia more responsibilities this school year and she is excelling in all areas. She has taken these new tasks on with enthusiasm. Stacia is a valuable part of our team.”
Also at the meeting, student representatives shared updates. The students included LVES student representative Caitlyn Rodriguez, LVMHS ASB student representative Gabriel Castillo, LVMHS AVID representatives Kayden Davis and Serenity Petroff and LV FFA student representative Katelyn Miller.
Ken Larson, the administrator for Alta Vista-Innovation High School, gave an in-depth presentation during a renewal petition public hearing. The LVUSD serves as the oversight agency over the Western Association of Schools and Colleges-accredited charter school program. Alta Vista-Innovation currently has more than 1,700 students.
Livingston gave a thorough presentation on local indicators for the California School Dashboard. The text will be presented to the state department of education by November 1, he said. The superintendent also shared an enrollment update, which was greeted with excitement by board meeting attendees. The district’s enrollment was 834 students for the month of September, which is 94 more than the same time last year. Since September of 2015, LVUSD’s enrollment has increased 17.3%.
Vici Miller talked about the upcoming Ride in the Rocks event, which will be held on Saturday, November 2. This year the ride fundraiser, which will begin at the Lucerne Valley Market and Hardware Store, is on pace to raise an estimated record $47,000 for the school district, she said. Local professional photographer/educator and competitive mountain bike rider is serving as the event organizer.
LVMHS Assistant Principal Kelly Boeing, speaking on behalf of Principal Nate Lambdin who was attending the Lady Mustangs’ home volleyball game, talked about the numerous accomplishments of the school and district over the past year.
Ricky Anderson, LVES’s new Assistant Administrator of Instructional Improvement, talked with excitement about in-class teacher coaching. Longtime school board member Tom Courtney said the board shared Anderson’s enthusiasm.
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From left to right, Superintendent Peter Livingston, school board president Jim Harvey, board members Tom Courtney and Reuben Medina, employees of the month Jacqueline Lopez and Stacia Hartwell, and school board members Jessica Risler and Chelsea LaGrange. Photo by Doug Beaton