Congratulations to the four recipients of a PSJA Spirit Award! The Spirit of PSJA Awards Recognition Program aims to highlight staff members who go above and beyond representing our district in each of the categories of our district's leadership definition.
Over 190 award nominations for each of the four categories (Positive Engagement, Student-Centered Excellence, Joint Empowerment, Adaptive Innovation) were submitted throughout the year by campus Principal/Directors.
From those nominees, a committee comprised of district administrators selected the top four to represent each category as Finalists This was a blind selection with names, locations, and titles redacted to ensure a fair process.
Today we held a special Spirit Awards Virtual Celebration to honor these finalists and announce top recipients in each category.
Congratulations to the 2019-2020 Spirit of PSJA Award Districtwide Finalists & Recipients:
Robert Sandoval, Teacher, Ford Elementary (Top Spirit Award Recipient)
Juan Valdez, Teacher, Palacios Elementary
Juanita Mercado, Parent Educator, Anaya Elementary
Claudia Alvarado, Instructional Specialist, Early Childhood Department
Student-Centered Excellence
Rene Trevino, Teacher, Clover Elementary (Top Spirit Award Recipient)
Alva Diaz, Teacher, Pathways Towards Independence Program
Amy Benitez, Librarian, Garza Elementary
Loretta Sanchez, Counselor, Dr. Long Elementary
Stephanie King, Coach, PSJA PTI (Top Award Recipient)
Sandra Bermea-Lujan, Teacher, Doedyns Elementary
Karrianne Contreras, College Transition Dept.
Rene Hernandez, Coach, Guerra Elementary
Memo Cienfuegos, CIT, PSJA North ECHS (Top Award Recipient)
Imelda Palacios, Director, Child Nutrition Department
Lexi Esparza, Teacher, Yzaguirre Middle School
Jeanette Rodriguez, Teacher, Palacios Elementary