Gracia began her career with the Grossmont District in November 1992, as a temporary Girls’ Soccer coach at Monte Vista High School. In 1993, she began working as Monte Vista’s Book Clerk and in September 1994, she gained a permanent position as an Intermediate Clerk. Four years later Gracia received a promotion to Guidance Information Specialist, the position she holds today. Over the past fifteen years Gracia has remained a devoted staff member at Monte Vista, and in addition to her daily work schedule, she also found time to work with the students. Coaching girls’ soccer and becoming the cheer advisor have been two of Gracia’s favorite after school activities. And, if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she still found time to be the driving force behind Monte Vista’s Scholarship fund. The students and the school have benefited greatly from her undying willingness to go above and beyond just being an employee.

From the beginning of her service to Monte Vista, Gracia became a mentor and a confidante to the girls she works with. Many of them ask for personal letters of recommendation from her to submit in their college applications. It’s not at all unusual for graduates to return to Monte Vista to visit Gracia, and if one were keeping score, Gracia is most likely the employee who has received the greatest number of invitations to weddings from former students than anyone else. That says a lot about her, and the gratitude felt by the students she has worked with.

Classified Employee of the Year
Lori Clark

Lori Clark, 1st Quarter Classified Employee Award winner, also received the honor of Classified Employee of the Year.

Lori Clark came to GUHSD as Secretary to the Director of School to Career in the District Curriculum Office in 1996. She transferred to El Cajon Valley High School in 1998 to become a Guidance Information Specialist, and became Site Support Technician at ECVHS in 2005. Lori describes why she enjoys working as an SST at El Cajon Valley: “In the position of SST I feel I am able to improve student success through many avenues; hands on support with the master schedule, student schedules and educational development. I like being the ‘help’ desk for staff with our student system. We are such a data driven site so being able to produce information and reports that helps others with student achievement is very rewarding.”

Laura Whitaker, Assistant Principal at ECVHS, explains why Lori was nominated for the Classified Employee Award: “Her tireless devotion to our school and our students is a model for what teamwork is all about. She absolutely loves students, and even though she is not in the guidance office anymore, students will oftentimes come to her office to eat lunch with her or let her know what is going on in their lives. She has many graduates come back to visit her as well. She is always available to help students, and she always has a smile for them . . . . She always sees the potential in students, and she tries to do whatever she can to help them live up to that potential. The bottom line is that she truly cares.”