The District’s Employees of the Month for February 2024 were highlighted during the Feb. 27, 2024 Board of Education meeting.
The Certificated Employee of the Month is Nicole Hamamura, a teacher at Madison Elementary School.
The Classified Employee of the Month is Andres Mendoza, Library Media Technician at Lincoln Elementary School.
Congratulations to both! Learn more about them here, in the remarks that were read aloud during the Board meeting.
Nicole Hamamura, - Teacher, Madison Elementary School
Good evening Superintendent Almendarez, Members of the Board, Members of the Cabinet, Ladies, and Gentlemen:
With great pleasure and pride, I present Ms. Nicole M. Hamamura, Teacher – Madison Elementary as the February 2024 Certificated Employee of the Month.
Ms. Hamamura is an amazingly talented and innovative teacher who gives 200% of her energy, brainpower, and love to our entire school community each day. She has been teaching in our district for 16 years. Parents request that their children be placed in her class each year because they know that she is a stellar teacher who has high expectations and effective strategies to help children reach their highest potential. She puts in so much extra time and effort to make sure each day is a special learning day for her students. She truly gets to know each child and their family and makes strong connections with them. In addition, Ms. Hamamura helps make Madison an amazing school in her role as one of the leads in our musical productions every year. She also created and updated the Madison handbook every year and is an active member of the School Site Council and our instructional leadership team. Ms. Hamamura is so loved and appreciated for her unwavering commitment to Madison.
Please join me in congratulating Ms. Nicole M. Hamamura.
Andres Mendoza - Library Media Technician, Lincoln Elementary School
When I first found out Andres won the honoree, I was so happy and called him right away to share the great news. But of course, Andres is so humble and could not believe what I told him. When the staff at Lincoln found out the news, they were thrilled and only had nice things to say about how great Andres is and how he deserved to be honored.
Andres is a proud product of SAUSD. He attended Hoover, Davis, Sierra, Santa Ana High School, and Middle College. He knows what it feels like to be a student in Santa Ana, and he can relate to the needs and wants of students and families in the community. Even though his official title at Lincoln is Library Media Tech, he is so much more than that to all of us.
Mr. Mendoza takes his time to build a passion for literacy through weekly library sessions for all our students, and our students love their time with Mr. Mendoza. But Mr. Mendoza can be seen all over campus supporting in any other ways he can. You can say Andres is like a Jack of all trades because he can do just about anything asked of him. He has worked as a substitute site clerk and computer technician in the district, and when needed in other capacities he never says no and has the skills to fill in for others when needed. But beyond having the skillsets, he has the rapport and friendliness that others want to be around him.
Andres connects well to our community, and that is evidenced as parents have sought him to join them in parent committees and activities around Lincoln. He is currently our PTA secretary, and our families could not be happier with him as an addition to their team. Andres can connect what parents need and help support them to work with the school team to turn ideas into fruition.
But personally, what sets Mr. Mendoza apart is his genuine care and forward-thinking. Andres can anticipate needs and take steps to take care of things without even being asked. His proactive approach is invaluable and has made Lincoln a better place to be.
In addition, Mr. Mendoza's aspirations for the future reflect his commitment to supporting the community at a deeper level. His consideration of continuing his education to become a psychologist or school counselor demonstrates a long-term dedication to the development of our students and community.
Please join me in congratulating Mr. Andres Mendoza.
