Latest news with #CommunityHighSchool
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lizette Miller, Grand Forks Public Schools' first Classified Employee of the Year, offers a 'personal touch'
Jun. 3—GRAND FORKS — Even when it was time to surprise Community High School secretary Lizette Miller with her Classified Employee of the Year award, it was nearly impossible to drag her away from her work. Earlier this month, at the open house event celebrating the alternative high school's 40th year, Miller was busy welcoming the school's alumni and other visitors when Principal Terry Bohan stopped her. "Terry pulled me aside and he's like, 'I need you guys in the commons, we have some announcement we've got to make,'" Miller recalled. "And I was just like, 'Well, I'm kind of manning the entry,' and he's like, 'I've got someone coming to cover you.'" Even when she was greeted by her husband, son, parents and extended family from California, it didn't register that she was the one everyone had gathered in the commons to celebrate. "There's a picture captured where I'm kind of covering my face, like 'oh my God," she said. "It was just great. Tears, obviously. It was just a very humbling experience. My family was super happy, ecstatic, and very proud of my accomplishments, as well." Miller is the district's first-ever classified employee of the year. The district has long recognized classified employees of the quarter, as well as teachers of the year. Last year, however, district leadership realized they were missing an opportunity to recognize classified school staff with an annual award, according to district spokesperson Melissa Bakke, who sits on the Employee Recognition Committee. The committee selected Miller from a pool of 32 nominees using a rubric-based scoring system. Employee of the year nominations are open to staff members and, for the first time this year, parents and students. Those are the fun ones to read, Bakke said. "If a student goes home and they talk about experiences and parents really remember that, and then go and recognize them and take the time to recognize those teachers, I think that's really eye-opening," she said. "It's really exciting to see." Although there's no shortage of employees doing impactful work in the district, Bohan said it's no surprise that Miller ultimately rose to the top. "She keeps the mission of our students from our school in mind all the time all the time while offering a fantastic personal touch," he said. "It really sets her apart. ... It makes people remember, and makes others feel cared for because of her professional personal touch. She's well-deserving of this award." Bohan described her as a tactician in the school's front office, paying special attention to the details day to day and moment to moment that make the school administration run smoothly. And as the first person many people see when they enter the school, she has a talent for addressing a wide range of people and helping to put them at ease, from older adults trying to pursue their GED to younger families seeking English language classes. Miller, who is multilingual, also can communicate with people in Spanish and French. She first worked at the district from 2008 to 2011, working at Twining Middle School on Grand Forks Air Force Base. She left to start a daycare and raise her youngest children, then returned in 2019 to work in Community's front office. During her time at Community, she has been instrumental in digitizing the school's driver's education program. As part of her Classified Employee of the Year award, Miller received a $500 check, a gift card and a box of Widman's chippers. She was also presented with a plaque at a recent School Board meeting that will be displayed in the district office. For Miller though, the work is its own reward. "Just seeing these kids' lives change, both academically and personal," she said. "Some of these kids come here with not such a good experience, either in their personal lives or in an academic sense, so seeing them come here and seeing them flourish, and just become a whole different person from the moment they walked in to the person they become once they leave this school, has just been such a rewarding job."
BBC News
31-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Prudhoe school pupils begin first day at Washington base
Students at a school which had to be shut when the building was found to be unsafe have begun their first day at a temporary base about 16 miles (26km) Community High School, in Northumberland, was closed on 17 February for up to nine months due to cracks in its upper will use Sunderland College's Washington Campus for the foreseeable future. They will be bussed from Prudhoe to the site and back again each school's headteacher, Annmarie Moore, said it had been a "team effort" to get them back to face-to-face learning. Buses will leave at 07:54 BST, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, arriving in Washington at 08: will then travel back at 14:10 to avoid rush-hour traffic. It is expected they will return to the town at about 14:45. Cheviot Learning Trust, the academy chain running the school, issued a thanks to the local community following an outpouring of support, as well as Sunderland College, Northumberland County Council and the Department for trust's chief executive, Alice Witherow, said a "huge amount has been achieved" with a logistical effort involving transport, IT, furniture removals, cleaning and into what caused the issue are ongoing. Parents have been told they are likely be completed around Easter. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
14-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Prudhoe High school Pupils given new site 16 miles away
Pupils at a school which had to be shut due to cracks will now be taught about 16 miles (26km) away for the "foreseeable future", bosses have Community High School in Northumberland was shut on 17 February and pupils were initially told they would not be able to return until 3 the Cheviot Learning Trust then told parents the school would be closed for "six to nine months as a minimum" after the building - built nine years ago - was found to be has now said pupils will be taught at Sunderland College's Washington Campus, meaning pupils will have to take a 32-mile (52km) round trip each day. Trust chief executive Alice Witherow said the team was grateful to the college for "their collaboration and support in making this solution possible".She said the team had received "many messages of support" from parents and the wider community in recent weeks."[It] has been a real lift for all of us," she said, adding: "It is a real team effort and we are really grateful." The trust said the building in Washington would only be used by its school pupils and it would be for the "foreseeable future", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said the children would be bussed from Prudhoe to the college and back again each day, and that everyone would be "entitled to a space".Education Partnership North East, which Sunderland College is a part of, said it was committed to serving communities in the region. Neither body said when exactly pupils would start learning at the site. Students are currently being taught online. Prudhoe Community High School was built in 2016 at a cost of £14.6m under the previous Conservative government's priority school building programme (PSBP). Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
