News

North Central Educational Service District (NCESD) has announced the staff honored during the 35^th annual Excellence in Education Awards. This year, 53 award recipients have been chosen by participating school districts in Chelan, Douglas, Grant and Okanogan Counties. The selection process is decided upon by the administration team of each school district.

The Excellence in Education Awards began in 1985 and is a recognition program to honor, recognize and say “thank you” in a formal manner to extraordinary, dedicated certificated and classified individuals who give daily and unselfishly to the students in our schools.

Each spring, district staff, friends and family of the award recipients gather together for each County Excellence Banquet – an evening of dinner, entertainment, and recognition of excellence. Due to Covid-19, we are unable to hold the banquets this year but still recognize and congratulate each recipient for their efforts to support North Central Washington students, schools, and communities. Each recipient will be presented with an Excellence in Education Award from North Central ESD.

This year’s recipients are as follows:

Douglas County

School District	Name	Position/Building
Waterville	Rebecca I’Anson	Art Teacher K-12 Waterville School
	Tamra Avey	Custodian Waterville School
Mansfield	Mikia Schmidt	1st/2nd grade teacher Mansfield Ele.
	Bill Bayless	Bus Driver Mansfield SD
Eastmont	Jennifer Crane	Teacher Eastmont JH
	Julie Pierson	Counselor Sterling MS
	Angie Willms	Teacher Kenroy Ele.
	Nan Cuevas	Special Prog/MV Liaison Eastmont SD
	Pam Newton	Paraeducator Cascade Ele.
	Kim Osborn	Paraeducator Lee Ele.
Orondo	Patricia Staff	4th Grade Teacher Orondo Ele./MS
	Teresa Bryant	Office Mgr. Orondo Ele./MS

 

Okanogan County

School District	Name	Position/Building
Omak	Brandy Popelier	2nd Grade Teacher North Ele.
	Penny Statler	Bus Driver Bus Garage
Tonasket	Christine Olson	5th Grade Teacher Tonasket Ele.
	Kelli Burton	MS Sped Paraeducator Tonasket MS
Nespelem	Ron Frescas	4th Grade Teacher Nespelem Ele.
	Marion Ives	Language/Culture Coord. Nespelem Ele.
Okanogan	Steve Streeter	6th Grade Teacher Okanogan MS
	Teri Ewer	Secretary Okanogan High School
Bridgeport	Craig Burke	PE/Health Bridgeport Ele.
	Denise Crocker	Paraeducator Bridgeport MS
Pateros	Amy Stennes	Counselor K-12
	Megan Sherard	Paraprofessional Pateros SD
Brewster	Kyona Cavadini	8th Grade Language Arts Middle School
	Roni Jarrell	Paraeducator Brewster SD
	John Mustoe	Bus Driver Brewster SD

 

Grant County

School District	Name	Position/Building
Warden	Bert “Shelby” Cade	Ele. Counselor Warden Ele.
	Lili Gomez	Secretary Warden SD
Quincy	Tod Heikes	Science Teacher Quincy HS
	Jessica Blancos	Executive Assistant Quincy SD
Grand Coulee Dam	Karen Pace	Music Teacher District-Wide
	Terry Owen	Bus Driver District-Wide
Royal	Chris Palmer	Teacher Royal Intermediate
	Juan Villafana	Bus Mechanic Royal SD
Moses Lake	Dan Leighton	Music Teacher Garden Hts. Ele.
	Sheila Kries	Assistant Principal Moses Lake H.S.
	Monica McAtee	Instructional Coach Learning Services Center (Team Award)
	Stefan Troutman	Instructional Coach Learning Services Center (Team Award)
	Michelle Serrano	Head Cook Knolls Vista Ele.
	Stefanie Lowry	Director of Finance Learning Services Center
	Kimberly Palmer	Classified Staff Team Award Moses Lake H.S.
	Veronica Pruneda	Classified Staff Team Award Moses lake H.S.

Chelan County

School District	Name	Position/Building
Wenatchee	Juan Loera	Criminal Justice/Police Science WVTSC
	Bob Sanford	Social Worker Wenatchee HS
	Beth Hammerberg	Science Teacher Orchard MS
	Lance Coleman	HVAC Technician M&O
Cascade	Kelly Coulter	Intervention Specialist Alpine Lakes Ele.
	Dylan Morrison	Custodian Alpine Lake Ele.
Manson	Kate Sorenson	H.S. Teacher
	Steve Nygreen	M.S. Teacher
	Cassie Williams	5th Grade Teacher
	Maria Zaragoza	Health Room Assistant

“We are so proud of all the outstanding efforts happening daily within our districts. It is our pleasure to recognize these recipients, each of whom consistently goes above and beyond expectations to meet the needs of students. It is a privilege to honor their efforts,” explained Superintendent Dr. Michelle Price.

The North Central Educational Service District is a resource to the 29 districts within the four-county service area, providing professional and timely tools to meet the needs of individual schools and districts, and a reliable point of education-related information for the communities served. The NCESD is a respected resource to other ESDs throughout Washington State.