Employees of the Year
Each year, schools select staff members who have done an exemplary job throughout the year. Our honorees for the 2015-16 school year are:
Teacher of the Year – Sarah Zanardelli, Second Grade
Sarah possesses the essential qualities that make her an excellent educator and teacher leader. She is compassionate, dedicated, innovative, and a true advocate for students.
Upon entering Room E, there is evidence of high quality instruction, and her classroom tells the story of the rich learning that happens each and every day. GLAD charts, anchor charts, thinking maps, and samples of student work adorn the walls and students’ desks. Using data from multiple measures of student performance and integrating rich project based learning, her second graders show remarkable academic growth.
As a life long learner, Sarah regularly attends professional development and implements instructional strategies with both creativity and fidelity. Most recently, she attended Thinking Maps and Google Classroom training, and has seamlessly woven 21st century skills into her classroom curriculum. Sarah has written and was awarded several grants, including a grant from Boeing Corporation, which supplied microscopes to second graders and a Teacher Innovation Grant from Wells Fargo through the Silicon Valley Education Foundation.
Sarah has a positive attitude, an unwavering dedication to our students and an impeccable work ethic. Her quick wit and dry sense of humor are the perfect touch, and Capri is proud to nominate Sarah Zanardelli as our “Teacher of the Year.”
Classified Employee of the Year - Erica Jasna-Struble, Ed. Assoc.
Capri Elementary is honored to nominate Erica Jasna-Struble as our Classified Employee of the Year.
Erica serves as an Educational Associate in our primary grades and is a wonderful asset to our staff. She is patient, dedicated, conscientious, and continually supports and reassures students persevere and do their best work.
As a member of our support staff, Erica works one-on-one or with a small group of students, providing targeted instruction in phonics and phonemic awareness. Even though the basic lesson plan is provided for her, she modifies the instruction to fit the needs and readiness level of the students.
Erica has excellent communication and collaboration skills and has built wonderful relationships with both staff members and students. Teachers love having her in the classroom and appreciate her creativity and commitment to our Cougars Erica always encourages students to contribute to their classroom community and to consider their words and actions thoughtfully.
Currently, Erica is preparing to enter the Credential Program in the fall and to begin her student teaching experience, and we know that she will be an excellent classroom teacher and educational leader.
Volunteer of the Year - Maricela Parra
Maricela has been an active member of our Capri community since 2010. As President of ELAC for the past two years, Maricela has done a wonderful job of increasing membership and outreach to our families. She has helped arrange monthly presentations at our site and regularly attends the district DELAC meetings.
Last year, Maricela joined our School Site Council. She has provided valuable input that has helped shape our school goals. As a spokesperson for our Hispanic community, she was instrumental in implementing our after-school EL Homework Center for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
For the past several years, Maricela has been one of our Los Dichos coordinators. She attends monthly Project Cornerstone meetings and organizes the reading and activity schedules, along with the necessary supplies each year.
In addition to her formal roles on campus, Maricela always pitches in to help with a number of events including Picture Day, the Walk-a-Thon, field trips, classroom support, and is always willing to help with translation when needed.
It is with great pride and gratitude that we nominate Maricela Parra as Capri’s 2015-16 Volunteer of the Year.