California Credit Union and Los Angeles Unified School District Announce 2020 "Rookie of the Year" Teacher Awards

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Jul 27, 2020, 15:57 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- California Credit Union, in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), recently honored 17 first-year District teachers through its annual Rookie of the Year program. California Credit Union, which has served the education community with premier financial services for more than 80 years, created the Rookie of the Year program in 2015 to recognize exceptional new LAUSD teachers within the greater Los Angeles community.

The Rookie of the Year winners were recognized during a virtual ceremony on July 23^rd, which included the teachers and their guests, as well as California Credit Union and Los Angeles Unified School District officials.

California Credit Union CEO Steve O'Connell said, "We are proud to honor each of the 2020 LAUSD Rookies of the Year for their outstanding commitment to bringing learning to life for their students, particularly during this very challenging year. All of us have experienced the life-changing influence of teachers in our early years, and we have the greatest respect for the creativity and dedication of these educators. We want to celebrate each of these teachers, and congratulate them for a wonderful start to their LAUSD career."

"Congratulations to our Rookies of the Year," Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner said. "I look forward to working together as we start a new school year and to seeing the many contributions they will make to our students, schools and the communities they serve."

Representing elementary, middle and high schools throughout the greater Los Angeles area, the 2020 Rookies of the Year are:

Winner	School
Edwin Arbaiza	Clinton Middle School
Sarah Baker	Calabash Charter Academy
Mary Jane Barajas	Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School
Mallory Brighton	Sherman Oaks Elementary Charter
Jocelyn "Danielle" Bulante	Roosevelt High School
Terrill Clark	Bushnell Way Elementary
Kathleen Clark	Girls Academy Leadership Academy
Robert Docter	Van Nuys High School
Olga Dubenchuk	Arts Academy of Los Angeles
Sarah Langley	Andasol
Manuel Martinez Pereira	John R. Wooden High School
Jessica Miller	Flournoy Elementary and STEAM Magnet
Jay Park	Social Justice Humanitas Academy
Elizabeth Rodriguez	Budlong Avenue Elementary
Abigail Romero	153^rd Street Elementary
Melissa Smith	Brockton Avenue Elementary
Sara Valdez	South East High School

The winning teachers were selected based on a number of factors, including effectiveness in preparing and delivering instruction, providing a positive classroom climate with strong routines and procedures, adopting a dynamic and engaging teaching style, and showing high levels of professionalism.

California Credit Union created the Rookie of the Year program in partnership with LAUSD to acknowledge first-year District teachers who have shown exemplary commitment to education. Teachers are nominated by school administrators, and winners are selected by a LAUSD committee. Since the program began in 2015, California Credit Union has recognized 112 LAUSD teachers as a Rookie of the Year.

About California Credit Union
California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of $3 billion, California Credit Union has 25 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Visit ccu.com for more information, or follow the credit union on Instagram® or Facebook® @CaliforniaCreditUnion.

SOURCE California Credit Union