Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, June 6, 2020

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Mountain View News Saturday, June 6, 2020 

PASADENA ROTARY CLUB 

ANNUAL TEACHERS OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS 

June 10, 2020 on Zoom at 12:00 pm 

 

Pasadena, CA – The Rotary Club of Pasadena will honor the 2020 Teachers of Excellence 
on June 10th at their weekly Zoom Meeting. Meeting and presentation begins at 12 
p.m. President Scott Vandrick will make his final appearance in the “Time Machine 
–The Future” with surprises for the last time travel for our Centennial President. 
Pasadena Rotary is proud to present the 30th annual Teachers of Excellence Award Program. 
The program fosters, and encourages and recognizes excellence in teaching and dedication 
to public education in the Pasadena Unified School District. PUSD schools were invited to 
nominate teachers for this honor and twenty-three nominations were received this year. A 
selection committee composed of Rotarians, previous award recipients, and a former PUSD 
educator and administrator reviewed the nomination packages, which included three essays 
from each nominee and three essays from their respective principals. Ten semi-finalists were 
then chosen and interviewed via Zoom by the committee, in lieu of the in-class evaluations 
that are typically conducted. The five awardees are subsequently announced.

Each Teacher of Excellence is awarded $1,500, with an additional $500 being awarded 
to their schools. Funding is primarily provided by the Pasadena Rotary Foundation. The 
awardees additionally receive recognition from the city of Pasadena and state officials.

Teachers of Excellence Co-chairs, Del Lile, (Realtor at Compass and board member of the 
Pasadena Educational Foundation) and Lisa Cavelier, (CEO, Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena) 
brought this program together this year. 

The program’s genesis in 1990 was the product of hard work and dedication on the part 
of Pasadena Rotary’s honored members, Joe Lonergan, celebrating his 60th year with our 
club, Al Lowe, and Christle Balvin, among others. They were inspired by the story of Jaime 
Escalante, the charismatic former East Los Angeles high school teacher who taught the 
nation that inner-city students could master subjects as demanding as calculus. 

According to Superintendent Brian McDonald: “The coronavirus pandemic showed us, 
more than ever before, the importance of teachers, and I appreciate the Rotary Club of 
Pasadena for continuing with this tradition of honoring teachers during these uncertain 
times. PUSD teachers rose to the challenge, continuing teaching and learning online, 
demonstrating their care for our students, and providing a sense of stability. In this year’s 
Rotary Teachers of Excellence we see compassionate, out-of-the-box thinkers, always chasing 
unconventional solutions to emerging problems. Congratulations to this year’s honorees!”

2020 Teachers of Excellence Winners

Eric Gothold, Rose City High School; 28 years in PUSD; Photography and Studio Art 
Teacher

Mario Hernandez, John Muir High School; 26 years in PUSD; Honors Math Teacher

Marysia Narvaez, Marshall Fundamental School; 20 years in PUSD; 6th Grade Teacher

John Newell, Jackson Stem Dual Language Magnet Academy; 15 years in PUSD; K-5 
Science Teacher

Lauren Partma, William McKinley School of the Arts; 6 years in PUSD; 6th Grade English/
History Teacher. 

ROTARY is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide 
to provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. 
It is comprised of 1.2 million members working in more than 35,000 clubs in 200 
countries and geographic regions providing over 16 million volunteer hours each year. 
PASADENA ROTARY CLUB celebrates its Centennial 2020 year raising over $180,000 at 
the Centennial Ball. For our Centennial Project, we donated $75,000 to the Union Station 
Homeless Services to renovate their kitchen, we are making a significant gift to PolioPlus 
(now address COVID-19 response), an increase to $62,000 for local, community grants, and 
an increase to international projects by $10,000.

We have over 200 members that meet weekly at the University Club 
Pasadena with amazing, dedicated members contributing to the well-being and growth of 
the community, region, and world. Committees Include: Fight to Erase Polio, Dan Stove 
Music Contest; Four-Way Test Speech Contest; Bikes for Christmas; Community Grants; 
International Projects; Done In A Day; Toy Drive; RYLA -Teen Leadership; Shop with a 
Cop; and Teachers of Excellence to name a few as well as fun social events. Pasadena is the 
oldest and largest Rotary Club in the San Gabriel Valley and is part of District 5300 under 
the leadership of District Governor Luanne “Lu” Arredondo. www.pasadenarotary.com

The awards will be presented at the Pasadena Rotary meeting on June 10 at noon.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81729127787?pwd=eEEzeFZhTWVqUDVCbG82WG45NTYy
UT09 Meeting ID: 817 2912 7787 Password: 345302

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 Head of School: Julia V. Fanara

E-mail address: jfanara@alvernoheights.org

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: Brent Forsee

bforsee@ausd.net

Arroyo Pacific Academy

41 W. Santa Clara St. Arcadia, Ca, 

(626) 294-0661 Principal: Phil Clarke

E-mail address: pclarke@arroyopacific.org

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 446-5588 

Head of School: Ethan Williamson

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.org

Bethany Christian School

93 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3527 

Preschool-TK-8th Grade

Principal: Dr. William Walner

website: www. bcslions.org

Clairbourn School

8400 Huntington Drive

San Gabriel, CA 91775

Phone: 626-286-3108 ext. 172

FAX: 626-286-1528

E-mail: jhawes@clairbourn.org

Foothill Oaks Academy

822 E. Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626) 301-9809

Principal: Nancy Lopez

www.foothilloaksacademy.org

office@foothilloaksacademy.org

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 791-1255

Head of School: Jenny Janetzke

Email: jenny@frostig.org

The Gooden School

192 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-2410 

Head of School, Jo-Anne Woolner

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road 

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 

Head of School: Gary Stern 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

La Salle College Preparatory

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 website: www.lasallehs.org

Principal Mrs. Courtney Kassakhian

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2800 Principal Darvin Jackson

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Odyssey Charter School

725 W. Altadena Dr. Altadena, Ca. 91001

(626) 229-0993 Head of School: Lauren O’Neill

website: www.odysseycharterschool.org

Pasadena High School

2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 396-5880 Principal: Roberto Hernandez

website: http://phs.pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

322 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

Principal Joan Harabedian (626) 355-9028 

website: www.st-rita.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

141 W. Highland Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-1428 Principal: Lindsay LUIS

E-mail address: LUIS.lindsay@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Garrett Newsom

E-mail address: newsom.garrett@pusd.us

Walden School

74 S San Gabriel Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 792-6166 

www.waldenschool.net

Weizmann Day School

1434 N. Altadena Dr. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 797-0204

Lisa Feldman: Head of School

Wilson Middle School

300 S. Madre St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 449-7390 Principal: Ruth Esseln

E-mail address: resseln@pusd.us

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626) 396-3600 Website: www.pusd@pusd.us

Arcadia Unified School District

234 Campus Dr., Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 821-8300 Website: www.ausd.net

Monrovia Unified School District

325 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, Ca. 91016

(626) 471-2000 

Website: www.monroviaschools.net

Duarte Unified School District

1620 Huntington Dr., Duarte, Ca. 91010

(626)599-5000 

Website: www.duarte.k12.ca.us

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - and TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email: inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com