{"id":36213,"date":"2026-02-06T00:16:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/?p=36213"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:16:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T08:16:06","slug":"placentia-yorba-linda-unified-school-district-announces-nine-2026-employees-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/?p=36213","title":{"rendered":"Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Announces Nine 2026 Employees of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On February 5, 2026, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) proudly unveiled its 2025-2026 Employees of the Year. These nine outstanding individuals were nominated by their colleagues or supervisors, who highlighted the exceptional contributions they make to the district, going above and beyond in their roles. Each nominee was also recognized for embodying the district’s four core values: excellence, collaboration, integrity, and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn behalf of the Board of Education, I extend my warmest congratulations to this year\u2019s exceptional Employees of the Year. Their remarkable dedication to student success and steadfast service to our community truly embody the core values of our district,\u201d shared Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kym LeBlanc-Esparza. \u201cExperiencing our \u2018Prize Patrol\u2019 celebration for the first time, surprising our honorees and celebrating alongside their families, friends, and colleagues, was incredibly meaningful and joyful, and has quickly become one of my favorite PYLUSD traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing a proud district tradition, PYLUSD surprised each Employee of the Year at their school site or department with a special celebration. On February 5, members of the district\u2019s executive leadership team, along with the Presidents of the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators (APLE) and California School Employees Association (CSEA), hit the road for the much-anticipated \u201cPrize Patrol.\u201d This year’s honorees are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certificated<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rebecca Bonet<\/strong>
Valencia High School
Teacher of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Jennifer Rasic<\/strong>
Golden Elementary School
Teacher of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


April Treece<\/strong>
Valadez Middle School Academy
Teacher of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classified<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Jeanette Besheer-Hogan<\/strong>
Library\/Media Technician
Kraemer Middle School
Classified Employee of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Jennifer Gathright<\/strong>
Clerk
Fairmont Elementary School
Classified Employee of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Jennifer Terry<\/strong>
Child Development Preschool Educator
Linda Vista Elementary School
Classified Employee of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Management<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Barton<\/strong>
Principal
Tuffree Middle School
Certificated Manager of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Tonya Gordillo<\/strong>
Assistant Director
Student Services Department
Certificated Manager of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Maria Montalvo<\/strong>
School Psychologist
Valencia High School
Certificated Manager of the Year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To commemorate their achievement, honorees received a check courtesy of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union and a commemorative plaque from the district. We extend our sincere thanks to SchoolsFirst for their continued partnership and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The district also expresses its deep appreciation to all Employee of the Year nominees. Your dedication and hard work in preparing every PYLUSD student for success are truly valued and recognized. Selecting just a few honorees from our exceptional and compassionate staff is a challenge each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned for photos and videos of this year\u2019s \u201cPrize Patrol\u201d celebrations on the district\u2019s Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a>, X (FKA Twitter)<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On February 5, 2026, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) proudly unveiled its 2025-2026 Employees of the Year. These nine outstanding individuals were nominated…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":36216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-district"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36213"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36232,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36213\/revisions\/36232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodnews.pylusd.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}