By Anthony Guerrero
MONTE VISTA— A standing-room only meeting of the Monte Vista Board of Education on Thursday, April 11 had a full agenda with many positive items of interest. The board and superintendent named the district’s teacher of the year, classified employee of the year, heard from the fourth grade class and approved the 2020 senior class trip.

Teacher of the year
Superintendent Robert Webb announced that Dena Jaminet is the Monte Vista School District’s teacher of the year. Jaminet is also the district’s representative for the San Luis Valley Educator of the Year. The winner of that program will be announced later in 2019.
Webb read aloud statements that had been made about Jaminet’s dedication and why she is deserving of the award. Reading a document that was submitted by someone for her nomination he quoted, “In the 33 years that I have been a public school teacher and administrator, few others have demonstrated the depth of compassion for the teaching profession. Even fewer have displayed the breadth of application of such a wide variety of skills as Dena. The San Luis Valley is fortunate that Mrs. Jaminet has made it her home and to still be involved in the most trying of all professions.”
Monte Vista High School Principal Scott Wiedeman stated, “Dena has been instrumental in how each school has used data to drive our instruction. She’s rolled up her sleeves, gone down in the trenches with the students and staff to break down this data. She’s helped turn it into things our students need to know and learn. She teaches; she listens; she never complains, and she always puts others first.”

Classified employee of the year
Donald Romero, a custodian for the district, was named the classified employee of the year. Webb read a statement that was submitted describing Romero’s work ethic. “Donald has worked for the school district for over 25 years. His father worked for the district for several years. Donald learned his work ethic from his dad who took great pride in his work. Not because of the pay, but because he cared about the district and believed that any work worth doing should be done well. Donald’s carried that same attitude that shows in his work. He goes beyond his work description. He gets along well with other workers and relates well with the students,” quoted Webb.
Webb continued that an important factor is how well Romero interacts with the students. “What stood out to me is he’s not just a guy who pushes a broom down the hallway and dumps trash. You’ll see him talking to the kids. The kids love Donald. That’s what distinguishes him,” said Webb.

Fourth grade presentation
Teachers Rachel Torres and Sabina Malouff led the Bill Metz Elementary fourth grade class in a presentation of a research project the young students took on. The drug abuse prevention project the students researched was on marijuana. “This is one of the first times that the students actually did a research project. So we had to guide them in that process. We helped them figure out questions that they wanted to research. Other than that they took the role. They researched everything; they made their groups… they built the project by themselves. Mrs. Malouff helped build the PowerPoint because they had never done that. They came up with the research on their own,” said Torres.
Malouff added that the project also helped the students learn about citing information and identify the most important topics of interest. The fourth graders then took to the podium and presented a very well researched project on the effects and dangers of marijuana. The superintendent and board expressed that they were very impressed with the hard work of the fourth grade class.

2020 class trip
Junior Class Co-Presidents Maegan Beckner and Josiah Perea attended the meeting to inform the board of their planned trip for their senior year in 2020. They sought the board’s support and approval to continue moving forward in the trip planning process. The class plans to visit California and have a fun trip to Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm. The students will need to raise around $23,000 to make the journey possible for their entire class. So far they have raised around $13,000. The class plans to have fundraisers throughout the summer and will be present at many community events. The board of education approved that the class continue the planning process and their fundraising efforts.