About the Poway Unified School District

Poway Unified Announces Its Classified Employees of the Year Mary Herrmann, Beverly Flynn receive honors
The Poway Unified School District is proud to announce that Mary Herrmann and Beverly Flynn have been chosen as Poway Unified School District Classified Employees of the Year for 2004-2005. Candidates were submitted to a committee of district representatives, past winners, and school administrators. The committee chose two nominees (one representing school sites and one representing district departments) based on work performance, community achievements, and contributions to the school district. The San Diego County Office of Education also sponsors a Classified Employee Recognition Program, honoring one member of classified service for the San Diego County. This year's Poway Unified representative at the county level will be Mary Herrmann.
Mary Herrmann Career Development Technician Partners in Education/Youth Programs
Commitment to students and compassion for others describes the dedication with which Mary Herrmann approaches her tasks at Poway Unified. She has been working with special needs students since she began at PUSD more than 25 years ago. Mary "pounds the pavement" to help develop jobs for challenged students. She often takes the students from business to business on cold calls, helping them to have positive experiences as part of the Workability Youth Program. She also provides tutoring regarding work assignments and resumes, as well as training to individuals not familiar with the bus system. Mary often rides on the bus with her students to make sure they are comfortable. She is always available to the students, visiting them at worksites and giving them support. Additionally, Mary has provided a home and care to a legally blind and disabled young woman for years. The knowledge she has gained from this experience has been invaluable to her work with students. Mary often volunteers to serve on committees both within the district and in the community. As a result, her knowledge of the community and available resources provides parents and staff with much needed information and support. Her resourcefulness in finding an answer to a problem or making sure that all avenues have been exhausted typifies her work ethic. During any given day Mary can be found on a school campus meeting with students, out in the community speaking with potential employers about job placement, presenting job skills training in a classroom setting, or participating in state and regional committees. Mary's kindness and caring for students and staff extends throughout her contacts as she strives to assist her students to become independent, successful adults.
Beverly Flynn Instructional Assistant I - Special Education Midland Elementary School
Character Education is a theme for Midland Elementary School this year. Respect, caring, and trustworthiness are all exemplars to describe the demeanor of Beverly Flynn day in and day out. Beverly is an outstanding role model for students, coworkers, and parents. She has a positive impact on everyone she comes into contact with each day. In the classroom, thoughtful organization and planning are evident. Lesson plans are formatted to directly effect each individual student's growth and performance. Differentiation of instruction, with a sense of personalization, is typical practice. Beverly makes sure each student knows and understands their success for the day is of primary importance. There is no challenge too difficult for her to handle with kindness and diligence for the betterment of students or staff. Beverly goes out of her way daily to make the lives of coworkers and students brighter, easier, and more successful. These acts can take the form of a kind word, acknowledging a pleasant smile, or taking on another's task to make their load lighter for the day. She never hesitates to take on the difficult project for which others hesitate, stay the course when things get rough, and be flexible enough to make it all look so simple! In the course of the day, Beverly accomplishes many administrative tasks. These tasks require grace, flexibility, public relations, and humor. Her sensitivity and ability to get consensus in scheduling meetings with a variety of participants is remarkable. Her ability to keep all informed is a monumental task. Beverly is admired for her dedication, appreciated for her sensitivity, and loved for her ability to see the best in students and staff. In her dedication to meet the needs of her students, Beverly often discovers effective methods for modifying, adapting, and supplementing teaching materials for individual students. Although Beverly works primarily with students who have disabilities, she shows her talent for working with all students when assisting in the classroom. Her observations, intuition, and flexibility for meeting the needs of all students have played an instrumental role in their progress. She helps students feel successful and willing to challenge themselves to do their best. Beverly has been providing outstanding service to students, teachers, and parents for 28 years. She could easily be the PUSD Ambassador, and everyone in the district would surely shine!