By Khalida Sarwari
It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child, and sometimes members of the “village” go a little more out of their way than everybody else. The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District recently honored some of those standouts.
At the board of trustees meeting on May 24, the district recognized Natasha Ritchie as its teacher of the year, John Guerra as its classified employee of the year and LezLi Logan and Ron Jones as volunteers of the year.
Known as a “stalwart volunteer extraordinaire” for Los Gatos schools the past 15 years, Logan has served as president of major parent support organizations in Los Gatos at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Throughout that time, she has been a proponent of Project Cornerstone, leading efforts to oversee the integration of the anti-bullying program at schools.
As president of the Home and School Club, Logan has been instrumental in galvanizing other parents to serve the school and even led the campaign for the recently passed district parcel tax, according to the district. This year, Logan served on the district’s strategic planning committee to help envision and create goals that will guide Los Gatos High School’s improvement processes for the next four years. She has also served on the schedule advisory committee.
With her daughter, Hannah, graduating from Los Gatos High earlier this month, Logan will also hang up her hat as president of the Home and School Club.
“She has served with generosity, talent and skill and has made an indelible, positive impact on students’ lives over the years,” a district statement read in part. “LezLi Logan is the epitome of ‘service before self,’ and we as a school community are indebted and will miss her next year.”
In his work on the school site council or with Saratoga High’s music program, Jones has always focused on doing what’s best for kids, according to the district. A tireless worker who seldom says no to an important task, Jones is usually seen wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a smile.
His history as a volunteer in the Saratoga educational community started in 2006, when he served as a parent volunteer at Foothill Elementary School. He continued on to Redwood Middle School and Saratoga High School, where his children’s’ musical interests got him involved as a band dad and as the Saratoga Music Boosters’ photographer. Last year, he was on the grad night committee as the photo committee co-chair and photo booth photographer.
He’s also been a key member of the district’s parcel tax efforts, serving on the Measure A parcel tax oversight committee from 2012 to 2014 and fundraising during the recent Measure A renewal campaign. From 2012 to 2013, he served on the superintendent’s advisory council. This past school year, Jones was an integral member of the schedule advisory committee, participating in committee meetings and activities as well as doing “homework” by researching the practicality of schedule tweaks.
“He does the work of a committee of volunteers, and makes you smile all the way through it,” the district statement read. “Ron simply makes staff and students’ lives better by doing what needs to be done, and more.”
Guerra has worked for 41 years in Los Gatos High School’s maintenance division. He became maintenance supervisor shortly after longtime principal Ted Simonson retired, under assistant principal Doug Ramezane and principal Trudy McCulloch. In the area of maintenance, Guerra has worked all hours of the day and night to ensure that the school is running and safe.
“When he agrees to a project, you can count on every detail coming together,” the district statement read. “He responds to deliveries, on-site construction and maintenance needs, emergencies and manages all of the people and details needed to make sure the school is beautiful and operational inside and out.”
As chair of the English department at Saratoga High School, Ritchie has worked hard to keep the humanities relevant on a campus that has been absorbed with STEM. Her work with the school’s Media Arts Program has brought a relevance and purpose to interdisciplinary learning. She has also served on the schedule advisory committee.
Fellow colleagues extol Ritchie’s intelligence, creativity, work ethic, problem-solving abilities and ability to connect with others. A former student of hers admired her compassion and teaching practices.
“Her ability to bring people together to focus on the creative human side of life is inspiring,” the district statement read.
Link:
Los Gatos, Saratoga: Ritchie, Guerra take top school district honors
