One sign of a good hard worker is an attitude that says, the only recognition I need is the compensation I am due. There are other workers who feel like their expressions of gratitude or acknowledgement for hard work increase their sense of value to the organization.
The Holyoke School District has a long tradition of showing appreciation to staff members by participating in events like Classified Staff Week, National Principals Month, Teacher Appreciation Week, and many more. The district also recognizes teachers for every five years of service they give the district and for the last 15 years have awarded excellence in the educational profession with the Emerald Awards.
New for this school year is the Staff Member of the Month Program. During the month staff members have the opportunity to nominate one of their peers who has demonstrated respect, integrity, safety, excellence, ownership or achievement (RISE or SOAR) during their expected or non-expected roles, duties or has gone above and beyond their normal daily duties. From there two staff members will be selected and invited to a School Board Meeting to be recognized.
The first ever winners of Staff Members of the Month were Jill Bracken and Johana Nevarez.
Jill Brackhan
Mrs. Brackhan has made the transition from nursing to teaching look incredibly easy! She has gone above and beyond to learn as much as she can about the ins and outs of teaching in a very short time and is already going the extra mile to accommodate our students and meet them where they are. She is a positive asset to our students and has been such a wonderful addition to our team!
Mrs. Brackhan has undergone a career switch, with three kids aged kinder and below, her husband working out of town, and she is still positive and concerned about her class learning!
Johana Nevarez
Ms. Nevarez is such a wonderful face to our school. She's the first students and parents to see, the first to take a phone call, the first to lend a helping hand. The start of school is not easy, with so much paperwork and questions being asked. But Ms. Nevarez does it all with grace. Many people do not realize how much she does outside of school. She takes the "sick teacher" phone calls and has to call to find a substitute, sometimes consuming her evenings or mornings in an emergency. We ask her a lot- where do we find toner? The copier isn't working. We are out of coffee. Have you seen this student? Thank you, Ms. Nevarez, for all that you do inside and out of the school. You make every day great with your smile and your funny jokes!