The Buena Park Rotary Club held their annual Teacher of the Year and Classified Employee of the Year Awards luncheon at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner restaurant on Wednesday, May 7. Honorees from Savanna High School of the Anaheim Unified School District and Buena Park High School of the Fullerton Joint Union High School District were recognized, as were Teachers and Classified Employees of Centralia and Buena Park School Districts. There were eight recipients in all who were given a plaque, certificate, medal and pin in honor of their service and dedication.
The Buena Park Rotary Club held their annual Teacher of the Year and Classified Employee of the Year Awards luncheon at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner restaurant on Wednesday, May 7. Honorees from Savanna High School of the Anaheim Unified School District and Buena Park High School of the Fullerton Joint Union High School District were recognized, as were Teachers and Classified Employees of Centralia and Buena Park School Districts. There were eight recipients in all who were given a plaque, certificate, medal and pin in honor of their service and dedication.
Savanna High School Teacher of the Year: Steve Little
Little is a world history teacher at Savanna High School. He was accompanied by Savanna High School principal, Mr. Manuel Colon and Anaheim Unified School District Superintendent Michael Matsuda.
Little was recognized as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and coach who is able to combine compassion and rigor into classroom lessons and makes learning relevant and enjoyable through storytelling. As a history teacher, he expects his students to be civic minded and helps them understand why civic participation is essential in their lives.
Little’s most endearing quality is said to be his ability to motivate and inspire his students. As a varsity baseball coach, he is constantly modeling sportsmanship, commitment, and hard work. As a teacher, he provides a positive, nurturing, relevant, and rigorous environment where all his students feel successful.
Savanna HS Classified Employee of the Year: Maria Trujillo
Trujillo is the School/Community Liaison for Savanna High School. She was accompanied her principal, Mr. Colon and Senior Administrative Assistant Lisa Cruz.
Trujillo was recognized as an outstanding employee that goes above and beyond. She is the voice of Savanna for all TeleParent phone calls. She also has established partnerships with teachers and community organizations to help students in need during the holidays and even on a daily basis.
Trujillo has received a Kindness Matters award and been named a Savanna Employee -of-the-Month because of what she does. She is very humble person that never likes any recognition. If you ask any of the Savanna staff, they would say that Mrs. Trujillo is superwoman. She has excellent communication skills in both Spanish and English. She is an artist by trade and produces beautiful posters, bulletins, and flyers.
Buena Park HS Teacher of the Year: Fernando Rodriguez
Mr. Rodriguez is a math teacher at Buena Park High School, and has been involved with the California and Orange County Math Councils, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics during his 14-year teaching career.
Rodriguez came to teaching after many different work experiences in his life; working in a fast food restaurant, factory worker, auto parts store clerk, and in construction. He refers to his past experiences during his math classes and often says “We all use math every day.”
Buena Park HS Classified Employee of the Year: Glenda Aldaco
Aldaco is a campus supervisor liaison at Buena Park High School, where she has served for 20 years.
Aldaco is a cancer survivor whose motto is “Always believe in yourself and trust Him.” She was recognized as a team player who will do anything within her power to help and be part of the solution. She takes the initiative to speak with students, encouraging them to succeed and promotes a safe, positive environment.
Aldaco is an avid Disney fan who collects “all things Disney.” When it was learned that she is a Disney fan, Rotary Awards Program Committee Co- Chairman Dr. Diane Scheerhorn and her Executive Assistant Ruth Ann McMillan arranged for her to receive an autographed photo of Tinkerbell to congratulate her on her honor.
Centralia School District Teacher of the Year: Jennifer Lee
Lee is a 4th grade teacher at Danbrook Elementary School, where she has taught for nine years after being an English as a Second Language instructor. She was accompanied by her principal, Mr. Erasmo Garcia.
Lee received her bachelor and master degrees from California State University, Fullerton. She serves in the Instructional Guidance Team as a Thinking Maps District Trainer at the Centralia School District and as a Literacy Committee Facilitator and Literacy Lead Teacher at Danbrook School.
She is involved in all school events and devoted to fostering life skills and opportunities for Danbrook students, yet also motivating them. She often says to her students: “Time flies when we are having fun.”
Centralia School District Classified Employee of the Year: Sheri Evans
Evans is the school office manager at Dysinger Elementary School, a role in which she has served for 35 years. She was accompanied by her principal, Ms. Maria Poulin.
She was described as the person who knows everyone and everything on campus, including when someone needs a little extra TLC. She is organized, courteous, caring, dedicated and hard-working. In short, she personifies the Centralia School District’s goal of excellence. A former Dysinger student and parent, Evans is involved in the Dysinger community and has been called the sail that keeps Dysinger School moving.
Buena Park School District Teacher of the Year: Roxann Bogart
Bogart is a 6th grade teacher at Gordon H. Beatty School in the Buena Park School District, where she has served for 15 years. She was accompanied by her principal, Ms. Annie Oei.
Bogart received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma and earned her Master’s Degree in 2002. She is certified to teach both GATE and ELL.
A very involved teacher, Bogart has worked closely with the Resource Program Specialist at her school and on many school and district-level committees including textbook adoption, pilot programs and the Common Core Steering Committee. She was part of the initial steering committee to implement RTI (Response to Intervention) and is an instructional coach for her school and district.
BP School District Classified Employee of the Year: John Kreidt
Kreidt is a groundsman in the Buena Park School District, where he has served for 17 years.
Kreidt attended Whitaker Elementary and McComber Junior High and his son and daughter also attended Pendleton Elementary School and Buena Park Junior High School. He is proud that his children have followed in his footsteps being brought up in the Buena Park Schools.
An active member in the Buena Park community, Kreidt believes in giving back. He has participated in the Buena Park American Cancer Society Relay for Life for the last five years lending his assistance. He says the experience is “amazing and rewarding.”
Rotary International is the world’s first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary club members are volunteers who work locally, regionally, and internationally to combat hunger, improve health and sanitation, provide education and job training, promote peace, and eradicate polio under the motto, “Service Above Self.”
