Each month, our partner school districts submit glowing reviews of our employees, from which we select four employees of the month. We’re pleased to recognize our honorees from May 2023!
Judith Spinato
Fair Lawn Public Schools, NJ
Judith was nominated by Nancy Schwindt, Principal at Memorial Middle School, who wrote: “We have been extremely fortunate to have Judith Spinato as part of our school community for the past three years. Judith comes with great experience as an educator. Over the years, she has proven to be dedicated to the community of Memorial and treats the students at Memorial like her own. Judith has also become a member of the Memorial community. She goes above and beyond to celebrate her colleagues’ birthdays, and she offers to support school events by loaning and setting up her own equipment. For example, during last year’s 8th grade Beach Bash, Judith offered to set up beach volleyball nets, which she requested from the town recreation department. Once again, this year, Judith approached me and asked if we needed the nets again and would be happy to set them up for us. Judith has also offered much-needed entertainment at times by providing ‘puzzles/riddles,’ which she personally created about the staff at Memorial. The faculty had so much fun solving these puzzles. Judith is also wonderful with our special education students. There are not many substitutes who come to Memorial who are comfortable working within our self-contained classes. Judith is always willing and excited to support these classes and is phenomenal with our most fragile students and those that are non-verbal. Judith is very deserving to be honored as an Employee of the Month.”
Michael Rojas
Gallup-McKinley County Schools, NM
Michael was nominated five times this month by colleagues at Kennedy Middle School, who all had such admirable things to say!
Leoneil Tulabing, Principal, wrote: “He always helps Kennedy Middle School. He goes over and beyond what is expected to help the students.”
Maria Diongson, Special Education Inclusion Teacher, wrote: “I nominate Mr. Rojas because he is good in class management. He is strict but firm. Mr. Rojas has knowledge about math, especially in the middle school. Working with him in our inclusion classes was a great help for me. We collaborated and made sure that we are teaching the right concepts. He is a fatherly figure in school who really wants his kids to learn academically, socially, and emotionally. He is also a coach in our school. It is my pleasure to nominate him as a great substitute teacher.”
Gail Foutz, Teacher, wrote: “Mr. Rojas has been a permanent substitute since we got back from spring break. One of our teachers passed away the day before spring break and Mr. Rojas took over a very difficult position of replacing a teacher who the students loved dearly. He has done an exceptional job of helping the students during a very difficult time. He also helps our school out by coaching football and girls’ basketball. He goes above and beyond to help our school out.”
Tysha Bitsilly, Personal Care Assistant, wrote: “When our colleague passed away, he took the class into his own and made sure those kids were still on top of things as much they could be knowing their teacher was not going to be there anymore. He made sure those students knew everything was going to be ok and made sure the class was still in order. He is very kind and very respectful.”
Celeste Handy, Teacher, wrote: “I would like to highly recommend Mr. Rojas for Employee of the Month. We lost a teacher who passed away in March, and Mr. Rojas jumped on board right away and began teaching her class long term just like a regular teacher. The kids love him and he is very good not only with the well behaved kids but also with the kids who do not like school. I have a student that I can send to him who does not get along with most of the teachers or his classmates, because Mr. Rojas is a teacher that he loves. Mr. Rojas was telling me that this student found out that Mr. Rojas loves Slim Jims, and he brought Mr. Rojas some giant Slim Jims as a snack, because he appreciates Mr. Rojas so much as his teacher. The student Mr. Rojas told me about does not generally like school or make good grades, and I was so pleased to hear that the student appreciates Mr. Rojas as his teacher so much that he brought Mr. Rojas a snack to say thank you. Mr. Rojas is also very pleasant as a coworker. He is easy to work with, helpful, and kind. We are really blessed to have him here.”
Debbie Hamilton
Abilene ISD, TX
Debbie was nominated by Shawna Parmelly, Teacher at Cooper High School, who wrote: “Debbie has been subbing next door to me for the last 3 weeks. My colleague has been unable to return to work due to a medical emergency and Debbie has been fabulous!! She is flexible, friendly to everyone, and works incredibly hard. The end of the year is so crazy, but Debbie has taken on a full load of seniors and is helping finish up the year in a positive way!! She is always willing to help out in any way she can and has altered her schedule to accommodate ours so that the kids can have consistency. These students miss their regular teacher, but she has been a friendly, nurturing person for them and they have grown to depend on her in such a short time. We can’t say thank you enough!!!”
Pokee (Perry) Ho
Provo City School District, UT
Perry was nominated seven times this month by colleagues from Provo City School District who all had such wonderful things to say!
Jacob Griffin, Principal, wrote: “Perry is an exceptional substitute at our school. He has substituted here many times and the students love him. As an alternative high school, our students can have unique challenges at times; Mr. Ho has taken these in stride, been patient, and excelled as a substitute. I am honored to nominate him.”
Madison Fisher, Special Education Teacher, wrote: “I am a special education teacher at Independence High School. We are an alternative school, and many of our students look to their teachers for a source of stability. No matter what is going on in their lives, they know that they will be safe and cared for when they walk into my classroom.
This year I participated in a specialized training that required me to spend more time away from my classroom, which was a frightening thought for both myself and my students. The first half of the school year was tough, but then Perry came to our rescue!
Perry just happened to pick up my sub request, and he quickly became an integral part of our school. He is now every IHS teacher’s first choice when requesting a substitute, and our students are thrilled each time he returns. I think what makes Perry special is the way he values each individual student he meets. He puts in the time and effort to build genuine relationships with the students, and it makes a world of difference! My students love Perry because they know that he cares about them and wants to help them succeed.
Perry has helped so many of our students here at Independence, and I believe I am a better teacher because of his example. Perry deserves any and all recognition for his warmth, optimism, and dedication to students.”
Seralina McCormick-Danielson, Special Education Teacher, wrote: “My position is to teach students with IEPs and provide specially designed instruction for each student. Mr. Ho came into my classroom and my aide and student teacher discussed how he was professional, yet warm, quick to comply and follow sub plans or directions, and easy to work with. He shared some of his life experiences with them and this demonstrated how he developed this depth of character and passion for the education of people, especially students. My students seemed to connect with him. I have heard nothing but positive praise for him when I returned from my absence. I feel Mr. Ho not only deserves this nomination, but he is very worthy of this award and recognition. Being a substitute teacher is challenging. Students are not always receptive to the change, and being a positive, male role model in an elementary setting is very needed. We were very grateful for Mr. Ho and the elements of the profession he was able to bring with him. It is not always easy to deal with students with behaviors or academic struggles, but he did well and connected well with the faculty and staff. He exemplified a true educator and I truly hope you choose him for this award. He deserves it.”
Melissa Lopez Kennedy, Special Education Teacher, wrote: “He was friendly, respectful, clear, and followed my lesson plan. My students loved him and enjoyed his lessons.”
Brandon Barth, Teacher, wrote: “I would like to nominate Perry Ho for this recognition for multiple reasons. He has been one of the most exemplary substitute teachers I have ever come across in my decade/career. Perry filled in for me for an entire week while we were on vacation and I could trust him completely with my classroom. He checked in with me the day before I left to go over all the sub plans, wrote to me each day about how the classes were going with an email update, and fulfilled all the lesson plans I left with him. More than that, he constantly was checking in with students on their progress, going over assignments with the kids, and helping them where necessary.
What I appreciate most about Perry is that he is always putting the students first as if he was a regular teacher at the school. He is an active participant in the lesson. I feel like so often when I get back from having a sub the students are all too eager to tell me all the “bad things” that the sub did (or didn’t do) while I was gone. However, with Perry, there was not a single negative comment from the students. They all loved him, told me he explained things really well, and that he was able to help them with the assignments. Getting such praise from the students about a substitute teacher is really rare, so I was thrilled. He has done such a good job that Perry has become a regular face at our school with many other teachers asking him to fill in for them while they are gone. I feel very privileged to have gotten to know Perry and am so happy that he has been able to be a regular influence for good at our school. I am happy to nominate him for this award.”
Grant Bangerter, Teacher, wrote: “Perry is one of our ‘go to’ substitutes here at Independence High School. The students respect him and will actually work for him. He always has a cheerful, pleasant attitude. And he enjoys being here. He has been in my math classroom substituting for my co-teacher and he steps up to the plate and works math problems with my students just like my co-teacher would have. In my math class, I have a lot of reluctant learners, and I have to find different ways to motivate them. One way is I make soup on Fridays for quiz day. You complete your quiz, you get a bowl of soup. I also write a backstory about each soup to hang on the wall for students to read. Perry Ho impressed me so much, that I wrote about him and an ancient family soup recipe called, ‘Perry Ho’s Hong Kong Soup.’ It was a crowd favorite and a lot of students finished their quizzes that Friday. Perry is liked by all faculty, staff and students. He is a keeper.”
Allie Brantley, Resource Teacher, wrote: “Perry did an amazing job when I needed a long term sub. My students loved him. He worked hard and followed all the sub plans. Even the general education teachers felt he was doing a great job with our students. I would ask him to sub for me again.”