A Bay Park Elementary School special education assistant who takes on tasks outside her job description was named as the San Diego Unified School District’s Classified Employee of the Year.
Pauline Burt was honored during a ceremony at Marston Middle School held to recognize district employees who toil outside the classroom, including custodians, counselors, police officers, drivers, landscapers and office personnel.
District Board of Education President Kevin Beiser said Burt goes above and beyond for Bay Park Elementary School and its students, providing students with school supplies, shoes and other necessary items, while taking over the campus safety patrol.
“Whether Pauline is assisting at lunch duty, with busses, recess or in the classroom, she consistently treats each child with respect while maintaining high expectations of all students in both academics and social areas,” Beiser said
“Pauline cares for each as though they were her own and motivates them to be the best they can be.”
The other finalists were Marston Middle School special education assistant Cynthia McIntyre and Madison High School Dropout Prevention Program mentor Roana “Penny” Clark.
The trio were selected based on their work performance, involvement, leadership and commitment, district Trustee Marne Foster said.
Clark, who has worked for San Diego Unified for more than 20 years, communicates regularly with colleges and other organizations and takes students to workshops and to visit colleges to “inspire them to fulfil their potential,” Foster said.
McIntyre’s specialty is working to help students with individual education plans reach their goals. In addition to the time she spends in the school’s classrooms, she also tutors Clairemont-area students, Foster said.
Foster said McIntyre has the “just the right balance of skill, knowledge and caring that middle school students desperately need.”
Teachers of the Year were named May 6.
– City News Service
