Source: Coronado Unified School District
The Coronado Unified School District 2024 Classified Employees of the Year will be honored at the May 16, 2024 Board meeting. The honorees include Arden Gillberg from Coronado High School, also being recognized as the District Classified Employee of the Year; Frankie Guillen from Silver Strand Elementary; Lani Shanefelt from Village Elementary; Liz Jossett from Coronado Middle School; and Jorge Mejia from Maintenance and Operations.
“Our classified staff members support our district in so many ways, from assisting our students to be successful in our classrooms, to creating warm, welcoming, and well-run front offices, to keeping our campuses clean and secure,” said Human Resources Director Donna Tripi.
Arden Gillberg, Coronado High School and CUSD
In her role as a WorkAbility Coach at CHS, Gillberg is consistently recruiting new community partners as well as maintaining existing partnerships. She has improved job placement by 150 percent since she took on the position of WorkAbility Coach. She creates a safe and supportive environment for students to thrive. She prepares students for the workforce by building their confidence and self-esteem through classroom lessons, providing background information on positions and employers, and coaching students to handle a variety of work situations. She goes above and beyond every day with her students.
Frankie Guillen, Silver Strand Elementary School
As the Attendance/Preschool clerk in the front office, Guillen is the first person to interact with every visitor to the campus. Her cheerful attitude has a positive impact on the whole campus culture. She is a creative problem solver who always gives everyone the utmost attention and support. Her attention to detail is critical in her role of processing registration of state-funded preschool students, as the CDE Department of Early Education and the CA Department of Social Services have stringent rules and regulations.
Lani Shanefelt, Village Elementary School
In her role as a preschool teacher assistant, Shanefelt works tirelessly to support the development of the district’s youngest learners. She brings her expertise and experience to assist students who need significant support in emotional regulation. This year she took on an additional role to support CUSD’s SDQPI (San Diego Quality Preschool Initiative) data representative duties. She deals with ever-changing requirements that necessitate extreme attention to detail to complete. She goes above and beyond to support all preschool staff to meet their data collection requirements.
Liz Josset, Coronado Middle School
As the school’s administrative assistant, Josset wears many hats. And wears them all well. She is not only willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that students and staff have what they need to be successful, she capably and calmly handles any unexpected situation that pops up on campus. She appreciates the value of learning opportunities outside of the classroom and is never too busy to support staff as they provide outside experiences, activities, and events for students. This year she also volunteered her time and perspective as a member of the district’s Portrait of a Graduate Core Team. Liz takes pride in her work and it shows.
Jorge Mejia, Maintenance and Operations
As a lead custodian on the district’s incredible M&O team, Mejia is dedicated, loyal, and intuitive. He always has a smile on his face, a pleasant greeting, and a can-do attitude. He is regularly pulled in many directions to meet the maintenance and custodial needs of seven different district sites. He ensures that tasks are completed professionally and on time. When an urgent matter occurs at a site, he is flexible and adjusts his schedule to ensure that staff and students have what they need to be successful. During the floods in January, Jorge went above and beyond to ensure that sites were safe and operational.
Source: Coronado Unified School District
