AllentownSchool District

2018 Superintendent's Awards of Excellence

2018 Superintendent Awards of Excellence
Posted on 07/02/2018
On Thursday, June 28, 2018, Superintendent Thomas Parker and the Allentown School District Board of Directors held the first annual Superintendent's Awards of Excellence. The goal was to recognize the outstanding achievements of ASD community members. Each of the recipients were selected by their school building principal and met certain criteria. 

Academic Student Award Recipients
The first student award presented was based on a commitment to academic excellence. These students are currently in high academic standing, maintaining at lease at 3.0 GPA or earning all A’s and B’s on their student report cards. These students participate in programs and activities within the school and all are active and engaged members of the community, holding leadership roles within their school. 

William Allen High School, Natalie Cordero
Building 21, Abagail Reyes 
Central Elementary, Pierre Sanchez
Cleveland Elementary, Jasmine Beck
Dieruff High School, Adeeb Saed
Dodd Elementary, Caylin Castro
Harrison Morton MS, Zane Childs
Jackson ECC, Chariisma Gibson
Jefferson Elementary, Tay’ shawn Johnson
K-6 Newcomer Academy, Maryam Niazi 
Lehigh Parkway Elementary, Kellissa Brown 
McKinley Elementary, Nathan Paine 
Mosser Elementary, Brooklyn Derr
Muhlenberg Elementary, Richard Walker
Ramos Elementary, Layla Riddick 
Raub MS, Yarlene Diaz Aleman 
Ritter Elementary, Jacob Williams
Roosevelt Elementary, Jayla Lopez
Secondary Newcomer Academy, Lawrence Feliz Encarnacion 
Sheridan Elementary, Benjamin Carrasquillo
South Mountain MS, Skylar Swaby
Trexler MS, Aaron Schneider, Lynn Bui and Sallee Boose 
Union Terrace Elementary, Warren Arndt 
Washington Elementary, JohnPaul Uchuya 
William Penn Building, Destiny Rivera

Transformative Student Award Recipients 
Principals were asked to select a second student from their school who has transformed over the course of the 2017-2018 school year. Each of these students have displayed significant progress or academic gains over the course of the year. They are active and engaged members of their school community and have all overcome personal difficulty or trauma at school or home. 

William Allen High School, Marc Kegarise 
Building 21, Joziah Peters 
Central Elementary, Jaedyn Butler 
Cleveland Elementary, Ander Tochimani 
Dieruff High School, Ashyra Santos
Dodd Elementary, Shelsee Beato Garcia 
Harrison Morton MS, Jose Santiago
Jackson ECC, Lulu Miller
Jefferson Elementary, Iyana Gordon 
K-6 Newcomer Academy, Gleris Cruz Morales
Lehigh Parkway Elementary, Matthew DeSpain
McKinley Elementary, Jomar Marin
Mosser Elementary, Jose Vazquez 
Muhlenberg Elementary, Kaitlyn Smith
Ramos Elementary, Jedelin Reyes Guzman
Raub MS, Emily Maslonka 
Ritter Elementary, Isaiah Sanchez
Roosevelt Elementary, Syrus Greene 
Secondary Newcomer Academy, Nazir Issakh
Sheridan Elementary,  Deanna Dooley
South Mountain MS, Julio Lopez
Trexler MS, Denise Ferreira
Union Terrace Elementary, Klo Kway Taw 
William Penn Building, Tha Rin 

Teacher Award Recipients  
Teachers who are honored here tonight have several things in common. All were identified as someone who uses data to show significant gains in student progress in their classroom. They have developed or oversee programs or activities in the school that have proven measurable outcomes for student progress. They are also active and engaged members of the school community, holding leadership roles within the school. 

William Allen High School, Nicole Leskosky
Building 21, Shelby Ramirez
Central Elementary, Pedro Tosado 
Cleveland Elementary, Lisa Noll
Dieruff High School, Cathy Piston
Dodd Elementary, Dr. Ivonne Miranda 
Harrison Morton MS, Joan Preston
Jackson ECC,  Leida Rosario 
Jefferson Elementary, Jennifer Hoch
K-6 Newcomer Academy, Isamara Cabrera 
Lehigh Parkway Elementary, Kimberly Craig
McKinley Elementary, Gail Hahn
Mosser Elementary, Jennifer Voorhees
Muhlenberg Elementary, Sheila Harkins 
Ramos Elementary, Keri Mittura 
Raub MS, Monique Seiler 
Ritter Elementary, Marie Nemes
Roosevelt Elementary, Marjan Selvaggio
Secondary Newcomer Academy, Beverly Rickles 
Sheridan Elementary, Lori Kave
South Mountain MS, Kristina Michener 
Trexler MS, Conchetta Marucci 
Union Terrace Elementary, Sabrina Albright
Washington Elementary, Dia Smith
William Penn Building, Alisha Keiser 

Principal Award Recipients  
Additionally, principals were asked to submit a peer nomination to select the Principal of the Year Award.  These submissions were reviewed by Administration Center staff, and a combination of the narrative submitted and the total number of submissions were taken into consideration. An Elementary and a Secondary winner were selected from the pool of nominees. 

Each of these principals has dedicated decades of their lives to the Allentown School District, and are seen as a mentor by others around them. 

Karen Boardman, Elementary Principal of the Year
Susan Bocian, Secondary Principal of the Year 


Administrative Award Recipient 
Lastly, several nominations were received to recognize a member of the administrative team.  This person has been with the District as a teacher, principal, and now administrator. In the words of her peers: 

Jennifer Ramos, Administrator of the Year