Yolo County School Boards Association Hosting Excellence in Education

Woodland, CA - On Monday, September 25 at 5 p.m., the Yolo County School Boards Association (YCSBA) will honor county recipients during its annual ‘Excellence in Education Awards.’ The annual award ceremony seeks to recognize programs and leadership excellence from the five school districts across Yolo County, plus individuals and programs from the Yolo County Office of Education and the Los Rios and Yuba Community College districts.

This year’s event will be held in person at the Yolo County Office of Education, located at 1280 Santa Anita Court in Woodland. YCSBA invites community members to help celebrate the many accomplishments of these devoted educators.

YCSBA will host a social with light appetizers and refreshments starting at 5 p.m. The awards program will begin at 5:30 p.m. There is no cost to attend the event. Individuals who plan to attend in person are asked to register in advance at https://yolocoe.k12oms.org/2495-222992.

The awards ceremony will also be streamed starting at 5:30 p.m. on Facebook Live at facebook.com/YoloCOE and via Zoom at https://ycoe.zoom.us/j/82767144734.

The selection of the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year for Yolo County will be announced at this year’s awards ceremony from among the teachers nominated from the five school districts and YCOE.

The ceremony will also feature recognition of the 2023-2024 Yolo County Teacher of the Year. Last year, Erica Chung, a teacher at Woodland High School, was selected. She represented the county in the statewide Teachers of the Year program through the California Department of Education.

The awards ceremony will also recognize the recipients of the 2023 Classified Employees of the Year for the county. In May, YCSBA announced four individuals were recognized with the distinction and advanced to represent the county in the statewide Classified School Employees of the Year Program.

The individuals selected as the 2023 Yolo County Classified Employees of the Year are:

• Clerical and Administrative Services: Monica Pascoe, Administrative Assistant, Yolo County Office of Education
• Custodial and Maintenance Services: Jose Goche Velazquez, Custodian, Plainfield Elementary School, Woodland Joint Unified School District
• Food and Nutrition Services: Teresa Velasco, Laundry Worker, Douglass Middle School and Woodland Prairie Elementary School, Woodland Joint Unified School District
• Paraprofessional Services: Shirley Gibbons, Paraeducator Specialist, Lighthouse Charter School (West Sacramento)

The complete list of individuals to be recognized during the awards ceremony includes:

Davis Joint Unified School District

• Individual Award: Kate Snow, Coordinator of School Climate, DJUSD
• Program Award: “Davis Senior High School Link Crew” (Program Leader: Tatum Rice)
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardees:
  • Elementary Grades K-6 Teacher: Dorothea Taylor, Speech Pathologist, César Chávez Elementary School
  • Secondary Grades 7-12 Teacher: Alison Kimmel, Health and Communication Teacher, Da Vinci Junior High School
  • Student Services Credentialed Teacher: Alicia Perry, Elementary Counselor, North Davis Elementary School

Esparto Unified School District

• Individual Award: Mary Day, Special Education and Preschool Secretary, Esparto Elementary School
• Program Award: “Esparto Scholars Program” (Program Leader: Sherrie Vann)
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardee:
  • Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardee: Nancy Martin, Music Teacher, Esparto Elementary School
  • Student Services Credentialed Teacher: Javier Macias, Director of Student Services, EUSD

Los Rios Community College District

• Individual Awards:
  • Diana Daniels, Administrative Assistant, Davis Center of Sacramento City College
  • Dmitriy Tkachenko, Clerk/Financial Aid Advisor, West Sacramento Center of Sacramento City College

Washington Unified School District

• Individual Award: Stacey Tran, Director of English Learners and Support Programs, Washington Unified
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardee:
  • Elementary Grades K-6 Teacher: Mieko Mendenhall, K-8 Physical Education Teacher, Stonegate Elementary
  • Secondary Grades 7-12 Teacher: Elizabeth Estella-Burkholder, English Language Development and STEM Teacher, Westfield Village Elementary
  • Student Services Credentialed Teacher: Kristi Fenning, School Psychologist, Washington Unified
• Classified School Employee of the Year Awards:
  • Clerical and Administrative Services: Linda Tinoco, School Secretary III, River City High School
  • Custodial and Maintenance Services: Sergio Rivera, Custodian, River City High School
  • Food and Nutrition Services: Candace Ritter, Cook Manager, Southport Elementary School
  • Health and Student Services: Nan Giordanengo, Health Aide, Westfield Village Elementary School
  • Paraprofessional Services: Amrit Singh, Paraeducator III, Special Education, Westmore Oaks Elementary School
  • Technical Services: Jonathan Barca, Network Systems Administrator, Washington Unified
  • Transportation Services: Jody Blevins, Bus Driver, Washington Unified

Winters Joint Unified School District

• Individual Award: Cathleen Olsen, Director of Nutrition Services, Winters Joint Unified
• Program Award: “Winters High School Future Farmers of America” (Program Leads: Kayla Mederos and Donnie Whitworth)
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardees:
  • Elementary Grades K-6 Teachers:
    • Lucila Escamilla, Dual Language Immersion Teacher, Waggoner Elementary School
    • Yisenia Gonzalez, Dual Language Immersion Teacher, Waggoner Elementary School
  • Secondary Grades 7-12 Teacher: Daniel Ward, Physical Education Teacher, Winters High School
  • Student Services Credentialed Teacher: Najwa Burdick-Yahya, School Psychologist, Winters JUSD

Woodland Joint Unified School District

• Individual Award: Bibiana Garcia, Trustee, Board of Education
• Program Award: “Woodland High School Agriculture Program” (Program Leaders: Adilene Bermudez, Jerry Delsol, and Eric Dyer)
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardees:
  • Elementary Grades K-6 Teacher: Julie Bourdet, 6th Grade Teacher, Tafoya Elementary School
  • Student Services Credentialed Teacher: Erika Berber, Counselor, Freeman Elementary School

• Classified School Employee of the Year Awards:

Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE)

• Individual Award: Patti Robles, Human Resources Analyst, YCOE
• Program Award: “Head Start Family Support Services” (Program Leader: Nicole Castrejon)
• Salute to Educators Excellence Certificate Awardees:
  • Elementary Grades K-6 Teacher: Marie Prieto, Teacher, Head Start Program, Montgomery Center (Davis)
  • Alternative Education School Teacher: Monica Aceves Robles, Teacher, Cesar Chavez Community School
• Classified School Employee of the Year Awards:
  • Clerical and Administrative Services: Monica Pascoe, Administrative Assistant, YCOE
  • Health and Student Services: Guadalupe Blanco, Behavior Technician, YCOE
  • Paraprofessional Services: Felicia Loya, Paraeducator, Whitehead School (Woodland)
  • Skilled Trade Services: Ben Nan, Maintenance Technician, YCOE

Yuba Community College District

• Individual Award: Dr. Lorena Navarro, MESA Program Director, Woodland Community College
• Program Award: “Woodland Community College Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Program” (Program Leader: Dr. Lorena Navarro)

The Yolo County School Boards Association works to increase public awareness and appreciation of educational efforts in Yolo County. For more information on the Excellence in Education Awards, visit the YCSBA website on the Yolo County Office of Education webpage at: www.ycoe.org/ycsba.