November's Outstanding Employees

This month's honorees include a health assistance, clerk, services manager and dean of students.

Congratulations to November's honorees:

• Claudia Hines, Health Assistant at 7-Bar Elementary School 
• Tiffany Mcwhorter, Clerk at SY Jackson Elementary School 
• Billie Salas, M&O Support Services Manager
• Susan Arnett, Dean of Students at Kennedy Middle School 

The honorees are being featured on the APS electronic billboards around town and will be recognized by the APS Board of Education, receiving a lasting memento of the honor.

Learn More about November's Honorees

Claudia Hines, Health Assistant at 7-Bar Elementary School 

Claudia Hines is a hard worker. She is energetic, friendly, positive and has
great ideas for changing times. She volunteers for after-school activities, takes the lead in focus teams and volunteers help to other co-workers at school. She is organized, takes initiative, and is very reliable. She has a neverending source of dedication to her job. Claudia is a valuable bilingual employee and she has a great sense of humor. 

"Claudia Hines volunteers for everything," said Melissa Ybarra, school nurse at 7-Bar.  "Any and all activities the school is sponsoring, you can bet she has volunteered to help. She really does go above and beyond her job responsibilities." 

Tiffany Mcwhorter, Clerk at SY Jackson Elementary School 

Tiffany has been a strong support system for not only the parents but for the
students. She always has a smile to give and will answer every question
you have. 

"My daughter was having a hard time with another student and Tiffany was
always available for my daughter to come and talk to," wrote one parent. "She even let my daughter sit with her during a recess. Her kindness to every student is amazing, but knowing my daughter has someone that truly cares makes me know that SY Jackson is the best place."

Billie Salas, M&O Support Services Manager

Billie has been with APS for almost 33 years and is a fearless
leader of the Support Services Department at the Lincoln Complex. As
a manager, she oversees a group of eight employees in support of processing
vendor invoices for various departments such as the Structural, Grounds,
Mechanical, Electrical, Fleet and Building Services. She ensures the
vendor accounts are set up, tracked and closely monitored daily.

Billie shows leadership in keeping her department organized and informed.

She ensures invoices are tracked and entered correctly, budgets are inline
and approved for spending and offers her help to jump in to investigate
problems.

"She knows deadlines and how important they are. She even volunteers to put together the classroom totes for the schools at APS due to COVID-19," said Denise Y O'Hara, APS-Support Services.

Susan Arnett, Dean of Students at Kennedy Middle School 

Susan Arnett could not be more of an asset to Kennedy Middle School. Her title is Dean of Students, but she is truly so much more. Every second of every day, she is striving to make Kennedy a better place and give every child that walks through our doors, or in the online world, the education that they deserve. She is willing to do whatever it takes to support students, staff, and families on a daily basis. She's honest, relatable, encouraging, and entirely focused on the students. She is so strong, smart, and the ultimate colleague that you want to work with. Susan could never get recognized enough, but I'm hoping that this recognition will be a start to make Susan feel the intense appreciation and she deserves.

"She quickly adjusted to the online world, learning so much about technology, calling students and families every day to see what she could do to help, problems solving with students, dropping off laptops and materials to homes, and being an overall champion in the students' corner when it comes to online learning," said Principal Laura Chiang.

How to Nominate an Employee

You can nominate an employee by filling out an online application. The nomination must be completed by someone other than the nominee (i.e., no self-nominations are eligible for consideration).

 Award recipients will be selected monthly by a Peer Praise Task Force.