RAVE Nominees 2017

Julia Smith, 1st Grade Teacher - Rooftop PreK-8 School 

"Ms. Smith is a natural teacher who brings joy to education. Ms. Smith is inspiringly well organized. [She is] a great exemplar of the community she is a part of and creating." - Nominated 12/2017

Lynn Garcia, Counselor - Educational Placement Center 

"She gives a piece of herself to each parent that asks for help. Our parents have a strong bond with her. She can easily relate to our parents. Every department needs strong shoulders to stand on. I feel honored to be able to work with Lynn and hope to one day also create the same strong relationships with parents." - Nominated 11/2017

Heidi Anderson, Public Relations Manager - Communications 

"Passionate and resourceful, Heidi is not only committed to being a topnotch public relations professional but also constantly goes the extra mile to exceed others’ expectations. Heidi earns a high level of respect from the Communications team and constantly uses her vast experience to drive positive changes. Every single day, I'm in awe the busy schedule she can handle, while still being able to address every visitor coming through her door. She is recognized as a to-go resource for both work and personal issues." - Nominated 11/2017

McKenna Taylor, English Teacher - Ida B. Wells High School - Special Service Award Winner for October 2017

"McKenna is an amazing breath of fresh air who shares a classroom adjacent to my own. As I am new at this school, McKenna has been so open and warm to me as a colleague. I see the students flock to her room every day for her classes and at lunch just to talk to her and laugh with her. The students here have often been beaten down by former schools and teachers. Mckenna offers no judgment, only encouragement. She really rocks her room puts so much time into making her classes appropriate, rigorous, and meaningful." - Nominated 12/2016

Nicole Cariaso, Kindergarten Teacher - Lawton Alternative School

"Mrs. Cariaso has a positive attitude and a great enthusiasm towards her students. She always think of creative ways to motivate her students to make the right choices and treat others with respect. I love that she greets her students and parents daily with a big smile each morning, which is a great way to start the day! Mrs. Cariaso’s dedication to her students by going above and beyond for her students even if that means staying late at school and creating extra work for herself. She has a family with a young child too so it means a lot to me that she places her students as a top priority." - Nominated 10/2017

Christl Perkins, Special Education Case Manager / Teacher - The Academy - San Francisco at McAteer

"Ms. Perkins has been an incredible addition to our staff - she is so hard-working, thoughtful, and attentive to building community. She is an incredible asset to our students & school community for a variety of reasons, including her commitment to improving our school through leadership and her kindness to families and students. Our staff is working together on improving our relationships with students, and Ms. Perkins has volunteered to lead a series of workshops focused on surfacing microaggressions within our community and working collectively to address them." - Nominated 10/2017

ZeHua Ye, Custodian - Tenderloin Community School

"John (ZeHua) has gone above and beyond keeping the Tenderloin Community School campus sanitary and clean. After spending hours on a daily basis cleaning the cafeteria, hallways, classrooms, and restrooms, John responds right away to emergency situations, such as leaks, spills, elevator problems, and the effects of student illness that require immediate attention. In addition, he is quite flexible and helpful in moving items into and out of storage. John opens up the school in the morning and makes sure it is ready to receive staff and students. He has a positive attitude, is flexible, is a hard worker, and is kind and friendly to students, staff, and families. He takes pride in his work, and is willing to go the extra mile to serve the needs of the school community." - Nominated 10/2017

Endora Lee, 1st Grade English Language Development - Edward R. Taylor Elementary School

"Endora embodies the values that pertain to keeping a focus on equity. She takes the role of "teaching all students" to heart. She goes above and beyond to assist her students with behavioral and academic challenges." - Nominated 10/2017

Nora Siggins, 1st Grade English Language Development - Edward R. Taylor Elementary School

"Nora was new to our school last year, and it was her first full teaching year. She had a very challenging class. She always collaborated and remained positive. She became an important member of our PBIS team and earned the respect of families and teachers. She continues to reflect and grow. To me , she embodies our core values." - Nominated 10/2017

Supply Warehouse Department

"Department's responsiveness during closing and opening of schools goes over and above their call of duty. By providing great customer service, tremendous burdens to site principals are eliminated." - Nominated 03/2017 and 10/2017

Martha Adriasola, Teacher on Special Assignment - School Health Programs

"Martha uses data to make decisions about district-wide systems and structures to support the health and wellness of our students, pays attention to detail, and has positive relationships with everyone that she works with. She keeps students at the center of her work and works tirelessly to ensure that they receive health education in the classroom, experience health events at school, and take safe routes." - Nominated 03/2017

Michelle Low, Teacher - Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School

"She is a great 3rd-grade teacher and a very important asset to RL Stevenson. She is a great team leader and always assists the principal and PTA. I'm nominating her because she's a great mentor and teacher." - Nominated 03/2017

Evelyn Cheung, Principal - Junipero Serra Elementary School

"Because Ms. Cheung puts in long hours, she is there when the staff arrives and when the staff leaves. I'm a substitute teacher and have been to about 12 different elementary schools now. Ms. Cheung has spent so much time planning that the effort pays off beautifully. This small school is undergoing construction so the playground has shrunk, the hallways have become crowded, the school has lost the library, but miraculously the test scores have improved and the morale has risen. I have never seen such a well-oiled machine that is full of energy, emotion, and care at every level of every day." - Nominated 03/2017

Jonathan Lewallen, Teacher - Presidio Middle School

"Mr. Lewallen is very nice to his students and loves his job very much. He never procrastinates and has our class doing fun projects to make sure we understand the material. He cares a lot about how his students are feeling." - Nominated 02/2017

Kathryn Molinaro, Teacher - Presidio Middle School

"Kathryn Molinaro is a very dedicated and hardworking teacher who teaches beyond everyone's imaginations. She treats all of her students fairly and is very patient with everyone. She also has a very humorous way of teaching things which makes it extremely easy to remember the material. A few weeks ago, she was teaching her class about how to write a good last sentence for explanatory essays. She rose one of her legs and kicked the air so fiercely, her shoe fell off! She told us that the last sentence (a kicker, as Ms. Molinaro called it) should "kick the reader out of your essay! In a nice and gentle way". Ms. Molinaro never leaves a unit unless everyone is fluent at the assigned task. With those reasons listed above, I am proud to nominate my teacher, Ms. Molinaro!" - Nominated 02/2017

Christine Spagnuolo, School Secretary - Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School

"Chris approaches her work and daily responsibilities with vigor, enthusiasm, and commitment. No task is too difficult. She recognizes the gravity of every project and completes it within the specified timeline with accuracy and success. When an unforeseen problem occurs, she accepts the challenge and works toward its resolution. Her unstinting work and positive attitude extend beyond her normal 9 hour day. It is common knowledge to all staff that Chris brings work home to finish during the evenings or weekends." - Nominated 02/2017

Patricia Daugherty, Special Education Department Head, Teacher, Case Manager - John O'Connell High School

"Ms. Daugherty supports me in my general education classroom. She makes me feel safe and understands my disability -- social anxiety and high-functioning autism. She helps students understand their work. She is a good teacher." - Nominated 01/2017