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CUSD honors certificated standout employees
Laran Gambs
Laran Gambs, a Central Valley High School English teacher who has been a fixture in the district for 26 years, was honored on May 7. With her are Ceres Unified School District Board President Dave McConnell and CUSD Supt. Amy Peterman. - photo by Photos courtesy of Ceres Unified School District

A number of standout teachers were honored as “Certificated Employees of the Year” during the May 7 meeting of the Ceres Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Receiving the honor were the following:

  • Taralynn Smith, who in her tenth year is a second grade teacher at Adkison Elementary School.
  • Navneet Kaur, a fourth grade teacher at Carroll Fowler Elementary School. She has been with CUSD for four years.
  • Angelica Hernandez who teaches kindergarten at Caswell Elementary Dual Language Academy. She is in her seventh year at CUSD.
  • Audrey Cole who is in her eighth year at CUSD and teaches first-graders at Don Pedro Elementary School.
  • Shannon Baca, a sixth grade teacher at La Rosa Elementary School. She has been with CUSD for 15 years.
  • Maribel Garcia who in her 11th year with Ceres teaches first-graders at Lucas Elementary Dual Language Academy;
  • Crystal Johnson a Sam Vaughn Elementary School third grade teacher. She has been in Ceres classrooms for 14 years.
  • Wendy Ferguson who teaches fifth grade at Sinclear Elementary School. CUSD hired her 13 years ago.
  • Jennifer Arnold, a Virginia Parks Elementary sixth grade teacher who has been with the district for 11 years.
  • Leticia Vidal, a Walter White Elementary School education specialist who is in her ninth year helping students.
  • Dru Looper who teaches first grade at Westport Elementary School. She has been with CUSD for eight years.
  • David Wells who in his 18th year with CUSD teaches English language arts, social science and P.E. at Patricia Kay Beaver Leadership Magnet.
  • Jillian Terpstra, an intervention teacher at Blaker-Kinser Junior High. CUSD hired her 13 years ago.
  • Myrna Calderon, a Mae Hensley Junior High language arts teacher who is in her 10th year at CUSD.
  • Kathie Knudsen, a Whitmore Charter Schools language arts teacher who has been educating in Ceres for 19 years.
  • Eber Beltran who is in his third year of teaching English at Argus High School/Endeavor Alternative.
  • Laran Gambs, a Central Valley High School English teacher who has been a fixture in the district for 26 years.
  • Madeline Saenz-Payne who teaches English at Ceres High School. She is in her 13th year.
  • Jeff Beckton, an elementary school music teacher now in his tenth year with CUSD.
  • Jill Somner who has been teaching in Ceres for 25 years and works with preschoolers.
  • Araceli Valdez, an education specialist in her 13th year of service.
  • Mandeep Dhaliwal who is in her seventh year as a Ceres Unified School District school nurse.
  • Jessica Barba, a fourth grade teacher at Hidahl Elementary School and also a Stanislaus County Office of Education “Teacher of the Year” nominee in the fourth through sixth grade division. She has been with CUSD for a decade.
  • Kathy Borges, who teaches Agriculture and Family Life classes at Cesar Chavez Junior High. She also was recently named a “Teacher of the Year” in the seventh and eighth grade division by the Stanislaus County Office of Education. Borges has been teaching in Ceres for 35 years.

At the April 17 board meeting, trustees honored six “Administrators of the Year.”

They were:

  • Yolanda Guzman, the Administrative Assistant at Caswell Elementary Dual Language Academy. She has been with CUSD for eight years.
  • Lucia Hernandez, the assistant principal at Blaker-Kinser Junior High School. Now in her 21st year with CUSD, Hernandez was also the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Middle Grades “Co-Administrator of the Year” at the state level.
  • Erin Balaam, a program administrator with CUSD’s Educational Services division. She’s been with the district five years.
  • Angela Durossette, a program specialist with CUSD’s – Special Education program. Now in her 23rd year with CUSD, she was also the ACSA Region 7 “Special Education Administrator of the Year.”
  • Dr. Kristi Britton, the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services. She also was named by ACSA as “Business Services Administrator of the Year” at the state level. Dr. Britton joined the CUSD team 21 years ago.
  • Kristin Lilly-Porter, principal of Sam Vaughn Elementary School. She also was the ACSA Region 7 “Elementary Principal of the Year.” Now in her 16th year with CUSD, she previously worked at Central Valley High School.