Everyday Heroes is a regular feature in this staff blog. Remember to submit names of employees districtwide who have done something deserving of encouragement and praise. Give a shout-out to one of your colleagues at your school or support building and watch for it to appear in an upcoming Everyday Heroes blog post.

Here are our newest honorees:

Everyday Heroes
Maggie Dunlap, Paraeducator, Capital High School and Min Hwa Arnold, Paraeducator, Olympia High School

I want to nominate 2 amazing staff persons for their constant support of students using assistive technology this school year. They have dedicated extra time to learn about technology as it relates to their student’s learning needs, finding ways to navigate around and through obstacles to combine classwork and skills building in thoughtful, meaningful ways within their sessions.

It has been a pleasure to work with Maggie Dunlap (Capital High School) and Min Hwa Arnold (Olympia High School) these past months.

Thank you, Maggie and Min Hwa, for doing what you do so well.
Submitted by Suzanne Anthony, Assistive Technology Program Specialist, OSD

Everyday Hero
Carolyn Miles, Substitute Teacher, OSD

I would like to nominate Teacher Sub, Carolyn Miles, for being so flexible and filling in the last minute, with a smile and great attitude as well. Carolyn was scheduled at Hansen but they were sweet enough to send her to us two days in a row for a last-minute absence.  Thank you so much.
Submitted by Jodi Cox, Lead Secretary, Madison Elementary School

Everyday Hero
Chelsey Scheidemann, Math Teacher, Washington Middle School

Chelsey’s dedication to creating a generation of math people who love math has absolutely created a young mathematician in my home. I’d like to share a story about my daughter’s “Aha moment” as a result of Chelsey’s teaching. The other day, my 11 year old excitedly taught us all about solving for anonymous numbers. She enthusiastically explained that she used to think algebra was hard and now she thinks it is FUN! And this was because of her cool math teacher. Thank you, Chelsey. You helped my child discover how amazing math is. Chelsey’s success is built on a strong scaffolding of quality math instruction by McKenny Elementary teachers Teresa Bond and Dorothy Espedal-Johnson.
Submitted by Jane Partridge, Preschool Teacher, McKenny Elementary School

How to nominate an Everyday Hero

• Email the Communications and Community Relations Department (communications@osd.wednet.edu) a few sentences, and no more than 200 words, about why the person deserves recognition. It’s easiest to write as if speaking directly to the colleague, such as “Thank you for helping with…” or “I really appreciated when you…”
• Write “Everyday Heroes” in the subject heading of the email.
• Include your first and last name as the person submitting the comments.
• Include the first and last name of the OSD employee you are recognizing.
• Include the job title and work location (school or department) of the person you are recognizing.

All submissions will be posted in this blog on a weekly basis and archived each week.