Dr. Sharon McHolland
Superintendent, Orcutt Union School District
Superintendent, Orcutt Union School District
Individuals Who Made a Difference
Every June, the Orcutt Union School District has occasion to celebrate individuals who have made significant contributions to our students. The recognition takes place at a Board of Trustees meeting, and the theme for the meeting is “You Make the Difference”.
For my final column of the 2006-2007 school year, no topic can be finer than to list the amazing persons we honored at our most recent “You Make the Difference” celebration. In alphabetical order, here are the individuals we recognized and the reason why:
District Director of Technology Buzz Eyler, for winning the Crystal Apple Award for excellence as a school administrator;
California Highway Patrol Officer Reggie Julius, for contributions to our district’s safety efforts;
Ralph Dunlap School parent Suzanne Levy, for her work in organizing the first-ever North County Math Super Bowl;
Orcutt Junior High School history/social studies teacher Ole Pedersen, for being selected as our district’s first-ever Santa Barbara County Teacher of the Year;
May Grisham School parent Chris Slaughter, for her service as president of the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation;
Alice Shaw School teacher Valerie Trenev, for receiving the Earth Day 2007 Conservation Award; and
Orcutt Junior High School Special Education teacher Randy Ungefug, for being named Vocational Training Center Special Education Teacher of the Year.
In addition, we honored those who served as presidents of our schools’ PTA and PTSA units during the past school year. The following persons led and coordinated the incredible contributions to our schools that their units have continued to make:
Peggy Andoyan (Patterson Road), Kathryn Brown (Orcutt Junior High School), Kelley McBeth and Brenda Sullens (Lakeview Junior High School), Mary Miller (Alice Shaw), Lisa Sanchez and Stephanie Southwick Hull (Joe Nightingale), Yolanda Stahl (May Grisham), Kathleen Stevenson (Ralph Dunlap), Lori Sullivan (Pine Grove).
Finally, we thanked the following persons who are retiring from our district this spring. The following retirees possess over 260 years of service with our district, and we will miss them dearly:
Jenelle Cantrelle, Director of Fiscal Services, District;
Susan Doyle, Resource Specialist, Alice Shaw School;
Suzanne Hajnik, teacher, May Grisham School;
Sheila Krausse, teacher, Orcutt Junior High School;
Rex Tift, principal, May Grisham School;
Beth Vela, teacher, Alice Shaw School; and
Janet Wilhite, instructional assistant, Lakeview Junior High School.
Congratulations to all of the wonderful people mentioned here! They indeed have made a HUGE difference for the children of the Orcutt Union School District!
Dr. Sharon McHolland can be contacted by phone at 938-8900, by e-mail at smcholland@orcutt-schools.net or by mail
c/o Orcutt Union School District, 501 Dyer Street, P.O.. Box 2310, Orcutt, CA 93457.
c/o Orcutt Union School District, 501 Dyer Street, P.O.. Box 2310, Orcutt, CA 93457.
