Classified Employee of the Month

Exciting news: I was honored at a recent board meeting for Santa Rosa City Schools as its Classified Staff Member of the Month for March 2021. Here I am in our school library with the official certificate.

Each of the district’s schools is showcased at a Board of Education meeting once a year. Awards are presented to a student, a classified staff member, and a certificated staff member (a teacher/counselor).

Although the awards are called “student of the month” and “staff member of the month,” for that school, it is really “student of the year” and “staff member of the year.” The award recipients are selected through nomination by their colleagues at the school.

Here is the write-up that was read during the March 6 board meeting:

“Cynthia Parkhill has several roles at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. She is the School Librarian, Instructional Materials Technician and a Yard Supervisor. Cynthia is a pivotal member of our team who cares deeply about our school and community.

“Cynthia has gone above and beyond for our students and staff this year. As we moved into distance learning, Cynthia set to work recording read aloud videos for our students to access online. She also launched a virtual reading club for students to attend on a weekly basis. Cynthia engages students with reading challenges and has visited Zoom classes to teach students how they can access books from the public library. Furthermore, Cynthia played a key role in Arts Charter’s school wide participation in Conversations in Common this year.

“In addition to all of this, Cynthia organizes the instructional materials teachers wish to distribute for our distribution days and is out there with a smile as she helps to distribute the materials to students and families. Cynthia is willing to help in any way that she can. She is extremely organized and impressively responsive. Cynthia has been pivotal in managing our distribution of technology, meticulously cataloging every device. When a student’s family requests replacement technological tools, she has materials ready for exchange or pick up in record time! She does all of this with professionalism and courtesy- every time.

“As one staff member stated, ‘Cynthia has knocked it out of the park during distance learning!’ Thank you for your dedication and hard work Cynthia! Congratulations! You deserve it!”