Attended by colleagues, board members, family members and school/district employees, the surprise visits highlighted Elia Sanchez from the Corona-Norco Unified School District as the Classified Employee of the Year, and Jannette Price from the Riverside County Office of Education as the Principal of the Year. Five additional surprise visits are planned throughout March.

“Our first two 2022 Riverside County Educators of the Year are great examples of innovative educators who are giving their best every day to serve students who face significant barriers in their educational journeys,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “Students that might otherwise be labeled as ‘at-risk’ youth are now considered ‘at-promise’ scholars because of the dedication and commitment of educators like Elia Sanchez and Jannette Price.”

Elia Sanchez has worked in public education for 25 years — including the last seven years as a Clerk/Community Liaison at the Corona-Norco Unified School District. In her current position, her main priority is to identify students with attendance challenges and to seek out solutions to ensure they remain on track to graduate. To ensure that students don’t fall through the cracks, Mrs. Sanchez utilizes data reports, training sessions with administrators, connecting with parents, and collaborating with educators and outside agencies, to change student behavior and establish a support system aimed at re-engaging them with their education. Mrs. Sanchez will advance to represent Riverside County in the statewide Classified Employee of the Year competition. “I feel so honored by this award. There is a whole team behind me, and, at the end of the day, it takes a great team to serve students and families,” said Elia Sanchez, moments after being surprised with the news that she is the 2022 Riverside County Classified Employee of the Year. “After 25 years in education, I had an idea of how I wanted to help students, and it has worked out.”

“Elia believes that all students need is a ‘hook’ to get them connected to school, and she is that ‘hook’ to influence students to succeed,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “Elia truly emulates what classified employees do for students every day in Riverside County.”

Jannette Price is an alternative education principal for the juvenile court school operated at three locations by the Riverside County Office of Education. Mrs. Price’s role differs from traditional schools with constant student transfers between probation facilities and individualized learning plans as part of the daily collaboration with staff. The development of an effective transition policy for students exiting the system, and the casting of a vision for students beyond their current circumstances, have contributed to a graduation rate for students in Riverside County’s juvenile court school that is the highest in California among schools serving this specialized student population.

“I do this because I love working with kids — especially our court school population. I know that there can be a stigma for some of our students, but I truly fight for them and advocate for them,” said Mrs. Price shortly after being surprised with the news that she is the 2022 Riverside County Principal of the Year. “They have the ability to learn and make the choices and changes in their life and that drives me every single day.”

“Mrs. Price’s vision for her juvenile court school students is based on the understanding that every student has the right and ability to learn with our support, guidance, and knowledge of their unique, individualized educational needs,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “An example of her heart of extraordinary service is that she has the ability to restore the self-confidence and strength of students by helping them prioritize their future over their past.”

The Riverside County Educators of the Year are selected from the more than 36,000 educational employees in the county. The rigorous application process starts with nominations by teachers, classified employees, and school district administrators throughout the county. Applications are then submitted to the Riverside County Office of Education, where an outside selection committee selects the honorees before the county superintendent announcement.

HeySoCal | Contributed

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By Sue Breyer, CalRTA Division 33 Vice President

Scrolling through Facebook posts and reading those pesky forwarded emails that fill up our Inbox has paid off for three local educators in the Hemet Unified School District. Division 33 of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) held its final teacher grant drawing on Tuesday, June 1st during their last membership meeting before breaking for the summer, with retired NBC4 newscaster, Fritz Coleman, randomly drawing the names of winners. The three $100 grant recipients were Natasha Dobbins from Dartmouth Middle School, Frank Urquiza from West Valley High School, and Erin Thompson from Whittier Elementary School.

Natasha Dobbins teaches 7th and 8th grade AVID at Dartmouth Middle School and has worked with the AVID program for over ten years. She learned about CalRTA’s $100 Teacher Grant program from Facebook, and from long-time Dartmouth colleague, Paul Kobayashi, who received the grant in February. Dobbins says, “I can’t wait to use the funds for AVID supplies – 2 ring binders, pencil pouches with supplies such as pencils, pens, highlighters, Expo markers and erasers.”

West Valley High School math and AVID teacher, Frank Urquiza, heard about the Teacher Grant program from a CalRTA email he received at work forwarded to him by school principal, Shannyn Cahoon. Urquiza says he plans on “using this generous grant to purchase an online math program that will be used by my students for practice, mastery, and remediation of current and past content during this coming school year. With the recent learning effects due to COVID-19, I know my student will appreciate this resource to help them in their educational endeavors.”

Erin Thompson, an Education Specialist at Whittier Elementary School, teaches 4th and 5th grade Special Education to students with emotional disabilities.

Thompson says, “I plan to purchase books – a class set (10 each) — of a few read alouds. I will also be purchasing SEL materials as I teach students with Emotional Disabilities. I would like a 3D puzzle of the earth or a solar system model kit or Geography Puzzles.”

CalRTA Division 33 will resume its $100 Teacher Grant drawings at their first membership meeting in October. Applications will open in early September, with emails sent to the principals of all elementary, middle and high schools in Hemet, San Jacinto and the surrounding areas. Teacher Grant announcements and applications can also be accessed from Division 33’s Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/calrtadivision33 and from their Division website https://div33.calrta.org/scholarships-and-grants/.

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CalRTA selects $100 grant winners

Christmas came early this year for three local teachers, bringing tidings of great joy in the form of $100 teacher grants, courtesy of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA) Division 33, which serves Hemet, San Jacinto and surrounding communities. Vice President Sue Breyer says, “This year has been such a tremendous challenge for educators, our hope is that these $100 grants will help bring a little holiday cheer to these teachers and their students.”

Laura Anderson, Jenna Spinali and Natalee Boggs each completed an easy online application form in November with hopes of winning one of three grants. CalRTA Division 33 holds drawings four times a year, in October, December, February and April, randomly selecting three winners from the list of applicants. During their December virtual holiday gathering, the names of three recipients were drawn from a pool of 50 applicants.

Laura Anderson is a veteran third grade teacher at Hemet Elementary school and is prepping her library for when students return to in-person instruction, adding books that have diverse characters and are more inclusive of the demographics of her campus. Anderson has been conscientiously working on this project over the past year. “The $100 gift will accelerate the process,” Anderson says.

Fruitvale Elementary School teacher Jenna Spinali works with struggling readers in the primary grades at her Hemet school. She plans to use the $100 grant to purchase a book titled “Bridging the Gap” by Brenda D. Smith, which she’s had on her wish list for a long time. “Many of my students have gaps in their phonemic awareness skills, so I hope the book will help me help them improve,” Spinali says.

With her $100 Teacher Grant, Natalee plans to buy science goodies for her students at Murrieta Mesa High School! The funds will allow her to purchase lab supplies for them, such as Borax, plastic bags, paper bags, balloons, straws, droppers, baking soda, new slides for the microscopes, markers, dish soap and paper. Boggs was surprised she was selected and says, “My students and I are very excited!”

For more information about CalRTA Division 33’s next teacher grant drawing in February, visit https://div33.calrta.org/scholarships-and-grants/ or access their Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/calrtadivision33 and watch for announcements.

Sue Breyer • CalRTA Division 33 Vice President

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