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The Poway Unified School District is
proud to announce that Edna Mailey, Student Services Specialist from Mt. Carmel High
School, and Joseph Dunne, Bus Transportation Aide, Special Education, have been chosen
as Poway Unified School District Classified Employees of the Year for 2005-2006.
Candidates were submitted to a
committee of district representatives, including a past winner, and district
administrator. The committee chose two nominees (one representing school sites
and one representing district departments) based on work performance, community
achievements, and contributions to the school district.
The San Diego County Office of
Education also sponsors a Classified Employee Recognition Program, honoring one member
of classified service for the San Diego County. This year’s Poway Unified
representative at the county level will be Edna Mailey. |
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Edna Mailey, Student Services Specialist from
Mt. Carmel High School
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Edna Mailey
Student Services Specialist, Mt. Carmel
High School
Edna Mailey’s “can do” attitude
has made a difference in the lives of students, and of the people she reaches out to
at school and in the community. Edna is energetic and persistent and sees the good in
all people. She works in Student Services, a site-based assistance program,
funded through state and federal grants, that provides services for students and their
families when life circumstances create powerful roadblocks to learning. Edna
listens compassionately to students and parents and provides them with help on issues
that are sometimes as serious as drugs, depression, alcohol abuse, and being in
trouble with the law. Edna finds a way to connect with parents, students, and teachers
and help students reach their potential.
When she can, Edna intervenes on behalf
of the student in need. She may offer a shoulder to cry on, a lecture from
“mother,” a self-improvement class, or any number of personal services. In
addition, Edna multiplies her influence on students through her community network.
She has developed relationships with organizations and people, including
counselors, law enforcement, business owners, and charities who can offer what
students need. Whatever it takes, Edna usually knows someone or some group that
can help.
Edna is also a champion of charity.
She works with student volunteers and provides help to local families and to those in
need worldwide. Edna and her committed volunteers help feed the homeless downtown,
bring coats and blankets to the poor, and gather food and supplies for local animal
shelters. Edna oversees the adoption of families at Christmas, and she spearheaded a
campaign to purchase wheelchairs for the needy overseas. All of this work
occurred this year! Edna combines these efforts with her student counseling by
inviting students to assist her in all of her good work. This helps them build
confidence, put their own problems in perspective, and takes their minds off of their
own situations. |
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Through her dedication and
leadership, the Interact Club was recognized as the organization of the year.
She has had a profound effect on the Mt. Carmel campus, both with those
individuals or families who benefit from community services, and the students
who volunteer.
“Edna is a great asset to our
school, to the community and most importantly, to our students,” said Ron
Garrett, Mt. Carmel High School Assistant Principal.
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Joseph Dunne
Bus Transportation Aide - Special Education
School begins for many Special Education
students with a ride on a school bus. For the past seven years, Joseph Dunne has
helped some of these students start their day in the best possible way. Joe’s high
regard for and interest in students with special needs gives these children a
successful beginning each day.
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Joseph Dunne
Bus Transportation Aide - Special Education
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Joe has devoted himself to the study of autism in children and has attended numerous
workshops and conferences on this subject . He arranged his schedule with the
Transportation Department so that he could also work as a substitute instructional
classroom aide with autistic students in Poway Unified. He purchased a “Hug
Machine” designed by Temple Grandin, which delivers deep touch pressure to help
children learn to tolerate touching and to reduce anxiety and nervousness in the
classroom.
During the summers, Joe works with the
Wisconsin Early Autism Project, which follows the influence of Doctor Ivar Lovaas, a
pioneer of a behavioral approach to meet the needs of autistic children. Joe’s
dedication to the understanding of these children has made him a resident expert upon
whom the Transportation Department has often relied for assistance with children who
would otherwise not be able to successfully ride on a school bus.
Through Joe’s self-study and college
level classes, he has amassed a personal library of over 175 books on the subject of
autism, which he loans to others to raise awareness of these children and their needs.
He has given valuable inservice training to the other school bus aides in the
Transportation Department and has been a guest speaker at a county-wide program on
transporting autistic children on school buses.
On his own initiative he developed a
picture program modeled on the Picture Exchange Communication program to communicate
with non-verbal autistic children, and a rewards program to encourage good behavior.
He has employed music designed to calm autistic children on the school bus, and
designed a lap vest used to calm children by wrapping them in a heavy reassuring
material that suppresses the desire to move out of their seats on the traveling school
bus.
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Joe has worked with many PUSD
children after hours through the County Mental Health Respite program, which
provides relief to parents and caregivers in the home.
He is also an active member of
the transportation team, helping in the department and on the Sunshine
Committee.
“Joe is a wonderful employee
who embodies our core values of "Excellence in All We Do" and
"All Students Learning-Whatever it Takes,” said Tim Purvis, Director of
Transportation.
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