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The Dublin Unified School District recently recognized nearly 70 staff members for their long-term commitment to the district and its students.
“Working in education takes a special breed of person, one who places others before themselves,” Acting Superintendent Daniel Moirao said in a statement. “The work is not always glamorous, but the rewards of contributing to the future of a young person, and therefore to our community and the world, is incalculable.”
The district celebrated both classified and certificated staff members, with Moirao noting that “in a world where the average stay at a job is less than five years, it is always uplifting to see the number of people who have made a long-term commitment to public education.”
Members of the public also celebrated many of the retirees. Dougherty Elementary parents threw a car parade for Lori Van Dorn, who taught for more than 30 years and had been teaching kindergarten at Dougherty since the school first opened. It was just one celebration of many others held for various retiring staff members.
Teachers and other staff members retiring this year include Liana deWit-Smith (library media technician/Fallon), Sheila Buckley (special education/Dougherty), Mark McCoy (human resources/district office), Martin Garcia (custodian/maintenance and operations), Kerstin Taugher (teacher/Amador), Fran Natale (teacher/Green), Caroline Rubio (counselor/Dublin High School), Lotus Lee (secretary III/Amador), Hourik Lonergan (special education/DHS), Lisa Caldira (facilities technician/facilities department), Amy VanEmmerik (special education/DHS), Janet Kaehms (teacher/DHS), Cathleen “Sam” Shiell (teacher/Dublin Elementary) and Mark Pignolet (teacher/DHS).
In other recognitions, the district also celebrated employees who reached milestone anniversaries in their DUSD tenure during the 2019-20 school year.
Tracey Crisologo, a teacher at Murray Elementary, is the sole district employee celebrating 30 years at Dublin schools this year.
Staff members celebrating 25 years of service were Monica McLeod (Dublin), Melinda Collins (Murray), Elizabeth Logan (Dublin), Frances Natale (Green), Andrea Bloom (Wells) and Joanne Palia (Green).
This year also marked 20 years of service for many staff members, including Guy Rose Sr. (M&O), Rebecca Briggs (DHS), Robert Herdman (Wells), Valerie Jacob-Bohart (DHS), Jennifer Keller (DHS), Jeffrey Taylor (DHS), Gina Hillier (Green), Anne Stevens (business services), Dayna Tutino (Green), Jennifer Porter (Murray), Virginia Wolfenberger (DHS), Nola Ting (Dougherty), Ralph Rivera (M&O), Christine Immesoete (education services), Shobha Tejwani (education services), Andrea Ramirez (education services), Kerstin Taugher (Amador), Kimberly Vanner (education services), Danee Mitchell (Green) and Lorrin Harris (Cottonwood).