The Marana Unified School District honored three of its members as 2022 MUSD Employees of the Year earlier this month.
Jessica Leonard, a fourth-grade teacher at Butterfield Elementary School was named Teacher of the Year; Beverly Burgett, the food services cafe supervisor at Marana Middle School was named Support Staff of the Year; and MUSD social worker Marisa Castro was named the Exempt Employee of the Year.
The district said Leonard’s approach to teaching is, “love before learn,” meaning that all her students are loved and allowed to be themselves. She has created a classroom culture in which her students feel safe to make mistakes, and she is quick to encourage and motivate the kids through verbal and non-verbal focus strategies.
Burgett has taken on the responsibility of leading a team of four in preparing 400-500 meals a day. When all schools closed due to the pandemic, she took on the challenge of running the Marana Middle School kitchen, which later became the site responsible for preparing 1,000 meals daily.
One of Castro’s duties is to work with students needing homelessness assistance and students in foster care throughout the district. The district said that she has an uncanny ability to meet families’ emotional, psychological and physical needs, while always valuing their voice and building trusting relationships in the community.
Career fairs
The Sunnyside Unified School District will hold its job fair on Feb. 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the SUSD Administration Office, 2238 E. Ginter Road.
The district announced that all certified and classified vacancies will be eligible for hire, though there will be no interviews or hiring on site. For information, visit www.susd12.org.
The Amphitheather School District is also set to hold its career fair Feb. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m at its district offices located at 701 W. Wetmore Road.
The district is looking to fill positions in and outside of the classroom, including teachers, substitutes, paraprofessionals, custodians, office staff, bus drivers and more. For information about the available positions or to register for the job fair, visit www.amphi.com/jobs.
Excellence award
Tucson Values Teachers presented its January Teacher Excellence Award to Lynn Thacker, a first-grade teacher at Mesa Verde Elementary School.
Thacker has spent the last seven years of her 15-year teaching career in the Amphitheater Public Schools. She was nominated for this month’s excellence award by Leslie Young, whose three children have had Thacker as a teacher.
“She is the most kind, caring, loving, sweet, attentive teacher you could have for your kids,” Young wrote in the nominating statement. “She truly loves all the kids in her class and gives each of them the attention they need. She always has a positive attitude and smile on her face, and the kids feel her calm energy.”
Tucson Values Teachers honors a Southern Arizona teacher every month. Winners receive $250 cash, a $100 gift certificate to Jonathan’s Educational Resources and flowers.
Scholarship opportunity
Cox is accepting applications from high school seniors in Arizona for a chance to win a $3,500 scholarship to put toward their post-secondary education.
Eligibility for the Cox Diversity Scholarship includes that students must be on track for graduation with a minimum GPA of 2.5, demonstrate leadership and community service, and submit an essay focused on a significant leader from their respective diverse community.
The deadline to apply is March 1. Students can find a link to the application form by visiting www.azfoundation.org/scholarships.
