Employee Excellence Award A district recognition program honors employees for their commitment to the students and staff of Vancouver Public Schools. The Excellence Award is given to individual employees who have created a positive, caring and productive school/work environment through exceptional effort, dedication, or performance in their area of responsibility.
Four employees were selected for the May 2013 recognition. They were honored at the May 28 school board meeting. Pictured left to right are:
• Grace Jewett, Area Manager, Special Services
• Camra Moreno, Bilingual Specialist, Special Services
• Mary Ann Beatty, School Nurse, Skyview High School
• Judy MacLean, Paraeducator, Lincoln Elementary School
The Excellence Award is given to two to four employees each month during the school year. Nominations are open to staff, students, parents, and community members. Nominees are selected for recognition by a committee of their peers.
Please nominate! Forms are available by clicking on the link on the right side of this page.
Learn more about the Excellence Award recipients . . .
Grace Jewett
Area Manager, Special Services
Hired August 2000
Grace Jewett is an advocate and firm believer that special education students should not be excluded from opportunities. As a Special Services area manager, she works with Individualized Education Program teams to navigate special education laws and guide decision-making so that every child can reach his or her greatest potential. She has a special passion for assisting high schoolers and has helped establish partnerships with agencies to support transitional employment and living. This year, Grace also has served as a mentor to a new administrator in Special Services. With patience, humor, intelligence, and compassion, Grace is transforming the lives of her colleagues and students.
Camra Moreno
Bilingual Specialist, Special Services
Hired October 1997
Camra Moreno has consistently and cheerfully supported approximately 2,300 English Language Learner, or ELL, students during her tenure as a bilingual specialist. She also helps ELL leads, support personnel, and district ELL staff comply with state and federal guidelines and collect and report data on ELL students. Additionally, Camra supplies data for all Title I and Learning Assistance programs, and she is the coordinator for administration of the state-mandated annual language-proficiency exam. Yet in spite of the enormity of the tasks Camra faces, she never loses her temper—or work ethic. Camra’s colleagues say that she truly exemplifies employee excellence in Vancouver Public Schools.
Mary Ann Beatty
School Nurse, Skyview High School
Hired August 1999
Being a nurse in a school of 1,900 students and 200 staff members is like being the lone doctor in a small city. But at Skyview, Mary Ann Beatty’s commitment to the population’s physical, social, and mental health never wavers. Administering medications, caring for special medical needs, and responding to crises are all done with a large dose of expertise and compassion. She even finds time to teach students how to monitor their health, explain complex medical terms to parents, and train staff. Considering everything Mary Ann does to keep Skyview healthy and safe, is it any wonder that her nickname is “Nurse Awesome”?
Judy MacLean
Paraeducator, Lincoln Elementary School
Hired April 1979
At Lincoln, paraeducator Judy MacLean can always be counted on to get the job done. Her cheerful greetings are the first that most everyone receives in the morning. She has worked in the reading intervention program, is a longtime member of the Lincoln Parent Staff Group, and can be found at every evening event. Judy and her family donated a new flag when they noticed that the school’s old one had become tattered. She’s even assisted in Lincoln’s office before the school year begins, as well as helped close it down for the summer. When she retires in June, she will be missed heartily.
