Excellence in Education Award Recipients Announced
North Central Educational Service District (NCESD) has announced the staff honored during the 35th annual Excellence in Education Awards. This year, 53 award recipients have been chosen by participating school districts in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan Counties. The selection process is decided upon by the administration team of each school district.
The Excellence in Education Awards began in 1985 and is a recognition program to honor, recognize and say “thank you” in a formal manner to extraordinary, dedicated certificated and classified individuals who give daily and unselfishly to the students in our schools.
Each spring, district staff, friends and family of the award recipients gather together for each County Excellence Banquet – an evening of dinner, entertainment, and recognition of excellence. Due to Covid-19, we are unable to hold the banquets this year but still recognize and congratulate each recipient for their efforts to support North Central Washington students, schools, and communities. Each recipient will be presented with an Excellence in Education Award from North Central ESD.
This year’s recipients are as follows:
Douglas County
| School District | Name | Position/Building |
| Waterville | Rebecca I’Anson | Art Teacher K-12 Waterville School |
| Tamra Avey | Custodian Waterville School | |
| Mansfield | Mikia Schmidt | 1st/2nd grade teacher Mansfield Ele. |
| Bill Bayless | Bus Driver Mansfield SD | |
| Eastmont | Jennifer Crane | Teacher Eastmont JH |
| Julie Pierson | Counselor Sterling MS | |
| Angie Willms | Teacher Kenroy Ele. | |
| Nan Cuevas | Special Prog/MV Liaison Eastmont SD | |
| Pam Newton | Paraeducator Cascade Ele. | |
| Kim Osborn | Paraeducator Lee Ele. | |
| Orondo | Patricia Staff | 4th Grade Teacher Orondo Ele./MS |
| Teresa Bryant | Office Mgr. Orondo Ele./MS |
Okanogan County
| School District | Name | Position/Building |
| Omak | Brandy Popelier | 2nd Grade Teacher North Ele. |
| Penny Statler | Bus Driver Bus Garage | |
| Tonasket | Christine Olson | 5th Grade Teacher Tonasket Ele. |
| Kelli Burton | MS Sped Paraeducator Tonasket MS | |
| Nespelem | Ron Frescas | 4th Grade Teacher Nespelem Ele. |
| Marion Ives | Language/Culture Coord. Nespelem Ele. | |
| Okanogan | Steve Streeter | 6th Grade Teacher Okanogan MS |
| Teri Ewer | Secretary Okanogan High School | |
| Bridgeport | Craig Burke | PE/Health Bridgeport Ele. |
| Denise Crocker | Paraeducator Bridgeport MS | |
| Pateros | Amy Stennes | Counselor K-12 |
| Megan Sherard | Paraprofessional Pateros SD | |
| Brewster | Kyona Cavadini | 8th Grade Language Arts Middle School |
| Roni Jarrell | Paraeducator Brewster SD | |
| John Mustoe | Bus Driver Brewster SD |
Grant County
| School District | Name | Position/Building |
| Warden | Bert “Shelby” Cade | Ele. Counselor Warden Ele. |
| Lili Gomez | Secretary Warden SD | |
| Quincy | Tod Heikes | Science Teacher Quincy HS |
| Jessica Blancos | Executive Assistant Quincy SD | |
| Grand Coulee Dam | Karen Pace | Music Teacher District-Wide |
| Terry Owen | Bus Driver District-Wide | |
| Royal | Chris Palmer | Teacher Royal Intermediate |
| Juan Villafana | Bus Mechanic Royal SD | |
| Moses Lake | Dan Leighton | Music Teacher Garden Hts. Ele. |
| Sheila Kries | Assistant Principal Moses Lake H.S. | |
| Monica McAtee | Instructional Coach Learning Services Center (Team Award) | |
| Stefan Troutman | Instructional Coach Learning Services Center (Team Award) | |
| Michelle Serrano | Head Cook Knolls Vista Ele. | |
| Stefanie Lowry | Director of Finance Learning Services Center | |
| Kimberly Palmer | Classified Staff Team Award Moses Lake H.S. | |
| Veronica Pruneda | Classified Staff Team Award Moses lake H.S. |
Chelan County
| School District | Name | Position/Building |
| Wenatchee | Juan Loera | Criminal Justice/Police Science WVTSC |
| Bob Sanford | Social Worker Wenatchee HS | |
| Beth Hammerberg | Science Teacher Orchard MS | |
| Lance Coleman | HVAC Technician M&O | |
| Cascade | Kelly Coulter | Intervention Specialist Alpine Lakes Ele. |
| Dylan Morrison | Custodian Alpine Lake Ele. | |
| Manson | Kate Sorenson | H.S. Teacher |
| Steve Nygreen | M.S. Teacher | |
| Cassie Williams | 5th Grade Teacher | |
| Maria Zaragoza | Health Room Assistant |
“We are so proud of all the outstanding efforts happening daily within our districts. It is our pleasure to recognize these recipients, each of whom consistently goes above and beyond expectations to meet the needs of students. It is a privilege to honor their efforts,” explained Superintendent Dr. Michelle Price.
The North Central Educational Service District is a resource to the 29 districts within the four-county service area, providing professional and timely tools to meet the needs of individual schools and districts, and a reliable point of education-related information for the communities served. The NCESD is a respected resource to other ESDs throughout Washington State.
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