We are pleased to announce that Lorena Pantoja, NPS District Interpreter, is our winner of the NPS Award for Excellence for November 2020.
Thank you, Lorena Pantoja, for your dedication, hard work, and service to our students, staff, and the NPS community!
Listed below are excerpts from some of the submitted narratives of Ms. Pantoja's nomination:
- Lorena does a great job for Norfolk Public Schools as our District Interpreter. She always does a thorough and timely job when I request something to be translated for the website or other forms of communication. She juggles multiple tasks from multiple individuals around the district daily and always does so with a positive "can do" attitude. She is easy to work with and is a team player. Lorena always keeps the needs of our Spanish speaking students, and their families, in the forefront and is a great representative of NPS.
- Lorena does a fantastic job of communicating with our spanish speaking community on behalf of the NPS staff. She is professional, discreet, and trusted by all. She can somehow listen to 2-3 min of dialog and translate it practically verbatim. She is pretty much a superhero.
- Lorena is such a joy to work with. She always has a smile on her face and is continuing to bring a positive vibe to every situation. Her professionalism with our families and those that she works with is second to none. I appreciate so much how Lorena connects our community to our schools. She continually does so much for our families that it only makes NPS a stronger and better place to be.
- Lorena is a kind servant, even when I request a quick response on a translation piece. She goes above and beyond to help us with communication to our hispanic families.
- Lorena is amazing. She is always accessible and always has a pleasant, supportive attitude. She is often given items on very short notice and does everything she can to meet the needs of each school, parent, and student. She is wonderful and certainly deserves this award.
- Great sense of humor. Amazed at her ability to translate as the parent or staff member is talking. This skill allows the IEP, 504, SAT, parent meetings to run more efficiently, which all staff appreciate. Responds to all translation requests quickly. Has built an outstanding rapport with our Spanish speaking families. Well deserved!
Lorena officially received her award at the Board of Education meeting on November 9th.
Please congratulate Lorena on this well-deserved award!
