Recognizing excellence in Kyrene is a long-standing tradition that has celebrated educators for eight years. Since the inception of the Kyrene Values Awards, over 700 employees have been honored.

This school year, we asked Team Kyrene to submit peer nominations for the individuals who go above and beyond for our schools, students and staff, rooted in the traits outlined in the Kyrene Key Values: Connection, Collaboration, Compassion, Courage, Curiosity. These shared values define who we are as Kyrene educators and what it takes to meet our responsibilities to students, to each other and to our community. Kyrene Values Educator awardees are recognized quarterly by the Superintendent. Awards will be given out quarterly to 12 recipients who are chosen from the nomination pool by the Kyrene Values Committee. This week, we surprised and celebrated our quarter 1 awardees amongst their students and peers.

Our quarter 1 awardees are:

1. Teri Raucci, Science Teacher, Kyrene Altadeña Middle School
2. Amy Mottern, IA Resource CCD, Kyrene Aprende Middle School
3. Billy Nichols, Science Teacher, Kyrene Aprende Middle School
4. Grace Paek, Registrar, Kyrene Aprende Middle School
5. Andrea Quijano, Program Coordinator II, Kyrene Community Education (Paloma)
6. Noelia Silva, 3rd Grade Dual Language Teacher, Kyrene de los Lagos Dual Language Academy
7. Shea Evans, Resource Teacher CCBS, Kyrene de las Lomas
8. Constance Lindsay, Teacher Resource CCBS, Kyrene de la Mariposa Computer Science Academy
9. Claudia Bustoz, 1st Grade Dual Language Teacher, Kyrene del Norte Dual Language Academy
10. Vicky Gutierrez, IA Resource, Kyrene del Norte Dual Language Academy
11. Tera Nelson, Assistant Principal, Kyrene de la Paloma Arts Integration Academy
12. Hanna Stewart, IA Resource Preschool, Kyrene de la Sierra

Congratulations to our awardees and to all the individuals who were nominated!

Thank you to our sponsor, CORE Construction for providing each awardee with a $100 Amazon gift card.