Countywide : Four Honored for Helping Schools

Four local people recently won Outstanding Contributions to Education awards from the Orange County Department of Education.

Bonnie Weiss, a health clerk at John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, has picked up many duties usually performed by a registered nurse since funding for school nurses was cut several years ago. She has worked in the Anaheim Union High School District for more than 15 years and received the Parent-Teacher-Student Assn. award.

“Bonnie is calm under pressure, reacts well to stress and is always willing to listen and help at-risk students,” Phyllis Berenbeim, coordinator of the awards program, said at the ceremony. “Bonnie leads by example. She is always available to help anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

Marilyn Haehn, a fifth-grade teacher at Harold Ambuehl Elementary School in San Juan Capistrano, won the award for extraordinary dedication. This year, she helped make a haunted house, organized an energy fair and coordinated a schoolwide math day at Ambuehl, where she has taught for 12 years. She is also a star in the annual student-teacher softball game each spring.

Parent Lois Monroe was honored for her launching of the “Time for Kids Team” at Brookhaven Elementary School in Placentia. A former social worker and probation officer, Monroe has been active in her school’s Parent-Teacher Assn. and founded the Time for Kids Team, a tutorial program that includes mentors from local colleges and business people.

Vivian Taggart, a special-education teacher and vocational education specialist at Jordan Secondary Learning Center in Garden Grove, helped her district earn statewide recognition last year during a compliance review.

“Vivian has transformed the vocational education program into a program that gives the students, upon graduation, an opportunity to work and live successfully,” Berenbeim said. “She brings the staff together and coordinates the entire school in a positive direction.”