Celebrating the educators and staff who make Redlands schools shine

REDLANDS, Calif. — Redlands Educational Partnership honored 33 educators and staff members during its 37th annual Evening of Appreciation on May 7, recognizing outstanding contributions to the Redlands Unified School District.

The event, held at Redlands East Valley High School’s Blackstone Theater, featured a video presentation spotlighting each nominee’s accomplishments.

Honorees are nominated by their colleagues and selected based on who received the most nominations.

Four educators were named Outstanding Teachers of the Year:

• Carol Burroughs, Highland Grove Elementary
• Stephanie Noble, Judson & Brown Elementary
• Brandi Ordaz, Kingsbury Elementary
• Patrick Walker, McKinley Elementary

Additional teacher honorees included Jillian Hough (Arroyo Verde), Kathleen Alexander (Bryn Mawr), Mitzi O’Shia (Crafton), Judy Stotz (Cram), Jenel Anderson (Franklin), Annie McLeod (Kimberly), Cynthia Cardoza (Lugonia), Kelly Hornung (Mariposa), Pichara Oung (Mentone), Krista McKee (Mission), Janelle Barnes (Smiley) and Albert Holmon (Victoria).

Four classified employees received Outstanding Classified Employee Awards:

• Jessica Ard, Cram Elementary
• Sandrea Camarena, Judson & Brown Elementary
• Jennifer Day, Crafton Elementary
• Jordan Gonzales, Franklin Elementary

Other classified nominees included Dianna Wagner (Arroyo Verde), David Flores (Bryn Mawr), Julia Salcido (Highland Grove), Stephen Terry (Kimberly), Natalie Nelson (Kingsbury), Jill Romero (Lugonia), Leasa Huff (Mariposa), Jacob Arroyo (McKinley), Hilda Soriano (Mentone), Heather Layton (Mission), Ofelia Garcia (Smiley), Cathlene Botello (Victoria) and Andres Baeza (Child Nutrition Services).

Awards were supported by Redlands Educational Partnership, the Eric Jacobson Memorial Fund ~ Lloyd and Jan Jacobson, Redlands Education Support Professionals Association (RESPA), and SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union.

The event also celebrated 14 elementary student artists whose work was selected for the ArtsAlive! 2025 Secondary Schools Student Art Notecard Collection. Their artwork will be displayed at the RUSD District Office for one year and featured on notecards available at www.rep4schools.com, with proceeds supporting REP programs.

The student artists are:

• Maya Hadley, Kingsbury
• Will Olsen, Kimberly
• Narae Kim, Kimberly
• Ariel Solis, Highland Grove
• Emma Cullen, Kimberly
• Kailynn Munoz, Mentone
• Juhi Hariya, Bryn Mawr
• Carter Boatman, Kimberly
• Samuel Gandolfi, Cram
• Esperanza Curet, Cram
• Damien Fisher, Mentone
• Emma Flores, Cram
• Harper Knox, Kimberly
• Roman Montelongo, Lugonia

For more information about REP programs, visit www.rep4schools.com.