Melinda Downing, DO Transportation
Melinda Downing raises her hands, indicating the school bus driver should stop, and then she approaches the driver-side window.
The task was to for the driver to parallel park the long, bright yellow school bus along a sidewalk. After the first try, Downing showed the driver where the back of the bus had overlapped onto the sidewalk.
As a bus driver trainer for the Klamath County School District, Downing is responsible for ensuring drivers meet all requirements and safety protocols for transporting students to and from school and activities. Her ongoing dedication to her drivers and the safety and well-being of students has earned her Klamath County School District’s top honor – a Crystal Apple Award. She is one of eight staff being honored during a celebration at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public.
“She goes way beyond expectations to make sure students arrive at school and home safely, putting in hours long before and after her scheduled time,” said Jettie Charter, who works as an office specialist in the KCSD Transportation Department. “She gives her all to make sure that we function well as a transportation team.”
In addition to training drivers, Downing jumps in wherever she is needed – driving bus, working as a bus aide, dispatching in the office, maintaining files, and keeping track of drivers’ certificates, medical and first aid cards, and classroom hours. She also trains drivers for activity vehicle certifications.
“I like meeting new people and getting to know them and being a part of their lives as they grow and take on new challenges,” she said. “I learn from every person I work with. They help me grow as an instructor.”
Born and raised in Klamath Falls, Downing is a Henley High School graduate and spent her childhood helping her parents in the family’s candy and ice cream store. Downing entered a career driving school bus in 2014 after a major change in her life.
“I knew I had to make sure I could provide for myself and my kids, and someone recommended I drive school bus,” she said. She regularly hauled a horse trailer and worked with youth through her church so as she put it: “All the pegs fit in the holes for a perfect fit.”
Three years later, she was offered and accepted a promotion to driver trainer.
“I was challenged to reach out beyond my normal duties, and I was honored someone saw that potential in me,” she said.
Accepting challenges is one way Downing hopes she inspires others. “I want to be a positive example to people in my life, showing them that when life throws you curve balls there is opportunity out there. You have to sometimes go outside your comfort zone and by doing so you grow.”
Downing was surprised to receive a Crystal Apple for what she describes as just doing her job. “It is an honor that someone saw what is in my heart – I like my job, I love my work family, and I want to be a part of it all,” she said. “I want to make everyone’s job a little easier and I want everyone to be happy.”
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Meet Klamath County School District's 2022 Crystal Apple Award winners. Each year, the Klamath County School District awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” The winners receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public.
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Cynthia Fee: Henley Elementary School
Cynthia Fee has wanted to be a teacher since she cut out paper dolls from shopping catalogs and lined them up to play school.
“I’m not sure I can tell you why exactly,” she said. “It was just in my heart.”
That heartfelt dream inspired a career that impacted youth across the country before Fee and her husband landed in Chiloquin in 2006 and she began teaching at the elementary school there. Today, she is a special education resource specialist at Henley Elementary School, and is the winner of one of Klamath County School District’s 2022 Crystal Apple Awards.
Each year, the district awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” The winners will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public.
KCSD educator Cassie Carlisle nominated Fee for the award, describing her mentor as “the gold standard of special education teachers.”
“She is a fabulous teacher who excels at getting students to reach mastery level with their curriculum and skills, and she takes the time for character education as well,” Carlisle said. “She is one of the hardest working teachers I’ve met, not only in her commitment to students, but also in the professional development of other teachers and para staff.”
Fee’s journey started at Rhode Island College, where she began student teaching at an on-campus elementary school. Since graduating in 1977, she has worn many hats – camp counselor, substitute teacher, kindergarten teacher, Latch Key director, preschool director, teen program director, juvenile detention officer, and sanctioned trainer for the YMCA.
She lived on the East Coast and in Arizona before moving to the West Coast via Astoria. A job at a fish hatchery moved Fee and her husband to the Chiloquin area where Fee began her career with the Klamath County School District. She transferred from Chiloquin to Henley Elementary in 2014, but still lives in the Chiloquin community.
“I meet my students where they are and do my best to bring them to their highest potential,” she said. “I’ve worked with students of all ages and abilities across the country, and in all those places I met the same children, and I met myself and the child I used to be – with hopes, dreams and fears.”
“Over the years, Fee’s love of teaching expanded to include other educators. She served as a facilitator for the Special Services Leadership Team and is a direct instruction coach and trainer for KCSD Special Education programs and curriculum.
Ultimately, she says, she just loves teaching, whether she’s helping a teacher with new skills or working with students. She called winning the Crystal Apple an honor.
“I don’t do what I do for recognition – but because it matters -- and hopefully, because it changes lives,” she said. “There are a lot of people worthy of a Crystal Apple.”
Day to day, Fee is in her classroom, working with kindergarten through sixth-graders on reading and other skills.
“She has a gift for finding the strengths in each student and pushing them to achieve their personal best,” Carlisle said. “She has also spent the last year and a half mentoring me. She did this because she cares so much for the quality of education students receive, and because she has a heart and passion for teaching.”
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Molly McAuliffe-Hepper: Henley High School
Molly McAuliffe-Hepper’s students say it best:
The Henley High School history and senior seminar teacher is one of this year’s winners of the district’s Crystal Apple Award. The Klamath County School District each year awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” They will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater.
Though Hepper didn’t plan on being an educator, after nearly 25 years in the classroom she is where she needs to be.
“I try to help young people feel a sense of belonging and empowerment,” she said. “The goal is to create a place for them to be comfortable and develop a curiosity to learn things beyond themselves.”
During a recent senior seminar class, she coached students on potential interview questions for college admissions and scholarships, and then had them practice with each other. One of the prompts: What are three words that describe you? Some students struggled, and Hepper helped them think of an honest, descriptive, yet powerful word.
Hepper was nominated for the Crystal Apple by three students and the Henley High School administrative team. The administrators kicked off their nomination letter with three words they say describe Hepper: “Dedicated. Steadfast. Tenacious.”
“Unpretentious and straightforward, Molly brings a quiet passion to her work that inspires students to strive for excellence in all they do … her classroom is a place of deep learning, lively discussion, and hard work,” the nomination continued.
Her nominators say she is not only a teacher but a support system for many students.
“Like me, many others find refuge in her class. … She never gives up on anyone; she caters to all ability levels and pushes us to be our best selves, not only academically, but in the way we act towards others as well,” one student said in her nomination form.
Hepper has worked for the Klamath County School District since 1997 when she took a position teaching social studies at Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School. She worked there for 15 years before transferring to Henley High School in 2012 where she leads both the Social Studies Department and the staff as whole. She has served as a Framework Instructional Team member, a new teacher mentor, and as a member of the Henley High leadership team.
She grew up on her family’s ranch in Fort Klamath, and comes from four generations of cattle ranchers who established roots in Lake and Klamath counties in the late 1800s after her great-grandfather, J.P. McAuliffe emigrated from County Cork, Ireland, to work as a sheepherder in Plush. She grew up on a cattle ranch near Fort Klamath and attended Chiloquin schools, graduating in 1985. Attending college on a full-ride athletic scholarship in rodeo, she won the National Intercollegiate All-Around Cowgirl title in 1986 and Reserve Champion in 1987.
After graduating Montana State University with a bachelor’s degree in history, she attended law school for one year before returning to Montana State to coach the women’s rodeo team and completing a master’s of arts degree in history.
She and her husband, Gary, then moved to Fort Yates, N.D., where they lived on the Standing Rock Reservation. Hepper worked at the Saint Bernard’s Catholic Indian Mission School for three years, which inspired her to return to school part-time and earn her secondary education teaching credentials. She and her husband returned to Oregon, where she landed the teaching job at her alma mater.
Today, she teaches U.S. history, honors U.S. history, law and justice, and senior seminar. When asked to describe her job, she writes: “My daily goal is to try to do several things: provide opportunities to think and learn about the past in a new light, help young people develop skills and confidence to take the next steps in life after high school, and be present in the moment and aware of other’s needs.”
She said she is surprised and honored to receive the Crystal Apple. “It means I had to reflect on things I rarely consider,” she said. “I guess this is a good thing to do occasionally. Maybe I have made a difference for some.”
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Maggie Hill: Shasta Elementary School
Maggie Hill spent years volunteering at Shasta Elementary School – in the classroom, on field trips, for fundraisers. If it needed to be done, she did it.
Her children graduated after seven years as Scorpions. Hill didn’t. Instead of volunteering, she took a full-time job with the school as a paraprofessional, working with children on reading, math, and other skills.
That was more than seven years ago. Today, Hill’s dedication to student learning has earned her Klamath County School District’s top honor – a Crystal Apple Award. She is one of eight staff being honored with Crystal Apples during a celebration at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public.
Shasta Elementary School Principal Randy Rose described Hill as the most dedicated paraprofessional he has worked with in his more than three decades in education.
“Her love for students and what she does for Shasta is infectious,” he said. “She is able to recognize on a daily basis which students need that extra little attention to make it through the day. Students absolutely adore her.”
Shasta Elementary School teacher Eleanor Trygstad agreed.
“Maggie puts students’ needs first and because of this, students feel safe and cared for every time they are with her,” she said. “She is always ready to jump in and help in any area of need, both at school and in our community.
Day to day, Hill works with small groups of students, teaching reading lessons as part of the school’s WIN – “What I Need” – program. She also assists teachers, and spends time helping students at lunch and at recess.
When COVID-19 closed schools, she was one of the first to jump in and help with day care, meals, education packets, and Chromebook assignments. She still volunteers after work hours for school events such as Family Fun Night.
“I really try to welcome people into the school,” Hill said. “I love to come work and be with the kids.”
Co-workers say Hill leads by example and works closely with school administrators to make sure her colleagues have the appropriate training, support, and supplies to best serve students.
“She is a phenomenal paraprofessional,” said Jen Witt, Shasta’s vice principal. “She is a positive role model for students and colleagues and her infectious smile and laugh brightens the days of both students and staff.”
Hill grew up in the Redding, Calif., area, eventually moving to Klamath Falls with her husband in 1992, where they started a family. When her oldest child entered kindergarten, she started volunteering at the school and found a calling. Today, she is inspired by her family and the children and staff she works with every day.
“I don’t see my work as a big challenge, but more as a reward,” she said. “Receiving the Crystal Apple is an honor that I accept on behalf of all the wonderful people I work with. Each of us work hard to make sure our children’s needs are met. It’s a great feeling to enjoy what I do.”
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Rob Izzett: Mazama High School
No one sits the bench in Rob Izzett’s band.
“You have to be louder. Again at 61, one, two, three …” says Izzett, band director at Mazama High School, as he raises the baton and his musicians get ready to repeat the measures. The band was practicing one of several pieces they will perform at an upcoming music festival.
Within a few beats, he cuts them off again. “You’re missing the B-flat, he instructs. “One more time …”
“A band is only as good as its weakest musicians so the challenge is to do everything I can to help them achieve no matter where on the talent spectrum they might fall,” Izzett explained last month as members of Mazama High School’s concert band packed up their instruments after an hour-long practice.
Izzett, who joined the Klamath County School District nine years ago, is one of this year’s winner of the district’s Crystal Apple Award. KCSD each year awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” They will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater.
Izzett’s dedication to reaching students and helping them succeed is one of the reasons Valli Lonner, vice principal at Mazama High School and district federal programs administrator, nominated Izzett for a Crystal Apple.
“His excellence in the classroom is evidenced by his attention to detail and the manner in which he provides feedback during rehearsals,” she wrote. “He inspires students of all backgrounds as he brings them together to create music. His out-of-the-box thinking – he started a mariachi band as a way to engage students who do not normally participate in band – and his willingness to teach students to play new instruments, demonstrates his desire to reach all students, to encourage them to try new things, and to support them along the way.”
Izzett also teaches band at Brixner Junior High School so he often has the same students from seventh-grade through high school graduation. The Mazama band also performs at concerts, festivals, parades, and football and basketball games.
“What inspires me professionally is being with the students and watching them achieve more than they thought possible,” he said. “Being in band and doing well not only requires individual discipline and work, but corporate work by the entire the band.”
Izzett has taken a high school band to the OSAA State Band Championships seven of the past 13 years, placing first, second, and third in their classifications. Even though he’s naturally competitive and loves to see his students do well -- “It is much more fun to play well than to play poorly,” he says – winning contests is not what keeps him motivated.
“When a student tells me that band is the only reason they come to school, not only is it inspiring, it is also humbling, and makes the competition piece not so important,” he said. “I think the most important thing I do is create an environment of safety for my students. They don’t have to be the most popular, or the best looking, or the smartest, or the most talented athlete. They simply have to do their best.”
Izzett grew up in a music household. His father was a band director, and his earliest memories are of traveling to festivals with his father’s band students. He played the coronet for show and tell in kindergarten. In first-grade, he performed on the trombone. However, after high school he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology and joined the Navy as a hospital corpsman. He didn’t pick up his trombone until two decades later when he joined the band as an active duty member of the Oregon National Guard.
At the age of 46, he went back to school, graduating with his bachelor’s from Warner Pacific and eventually earning a master’s of music education and conducting from the American Band College at Southern Oregon University. His first job was teaching band in Vernonia, a small town on the Oregon Coast Range.
He started working at Mazama and Brixner nine years ago and also directs the Klamath Community Band every Thursday and is an ordained Anglican priest in the Reformed Episcopal Church.
At Mazama, his wife, Lauryn, works with him as a percussion coach.
“I feel fortunate that I was able to do something that I absolutely love to do and get paid for it, and it’s always gratifying to have one’s bosses and colleagues affirm the job that you do,” Izzett said about receiving the Crystal Apple. “While I am honored to receive this recognition, we all know a dozen other teachers in our buildings who are equally, if not more, qualified to be recognized in this manner.”
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Meghan Miller: Lost River Jr/Sr High School
Most teachers manage one classroom. Ag science teacher and FFA advisor Meghan Miller manages multiple learning environments – a traditional classroom, a food science laboratory, metal and wood shops, two greenhouses, a barn, a chicken coop, and a school farm.
The Lost River Junior/Senior High School teacher is one of this year’s winners of KCSD’s Crystal Apple Award and is among eight staff being honored during a celebration at 7 p.m. April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater. The event is open to the public.
Described as a pathfinder and an advocate for all students, Miller is credited with turning a dying agriculture program into one of the top programs in the state and being a trailblazer for Farm to School programs.
Angie Wallin, vice principal at Lost River, credits Miller with more than doubling the number of students in the school’s FFA and ag program in her first year. From there, she continued to expand the ag program, adding opportunities for students with profitable greenhouses, a flock of ewes and lambs, chickens, pigs, and steers. Within a couple of years, her students were raising and harvesting produce, eggs, and beef for their school cafeteria.
“Student inspiration comes from teachers who love their content and the students they teach,” Wallin, said. “Meghan is enthusiastic about what she teaches. Students are drawn to that energy and then become just as enthusiastic.”
A 2004 Lost River graduate, Miller returned to her alma mater to teach after earning two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in science at Oregon State University. She started student teaching at Scio High School in 2008, and began her career with KCSD in 2009, teaching ag mechanics and horticulture at Henley High School before transferring to Lost River five years ago.
Her Crystal Apple nominators point to Miller’s ability to include all students by making sure everyone has what they need to participate. She writes grants, manages fund raisers, assists FFA students and their parents, and supports extracurricular activities. She also has expanded agriculture education into the elementary schools.
Last August, 13 students were able to enter and exhibit lambs at the Klamath County Fair who otherwise would not have been able to do so thanks to Miller’s efforts and support, Wallin said. Miller also supported and developed Lost River’s first Hispanic student who was elected as the Southern Region FFA president.
Lost River parent Connie Venegas was among those who nominated Miller for the award.
“She overall is an inspiration,” she writes. “She teaches students how to be responsible when caring for their animals … and encourages participation from all students. No matter the language barrier, she finds a way to make them feel welcome and part of the group.”
Miller was raised on her family’s farm in south county. Her father was farmer and rancher; her mother taught home economics at Lost River. Although, like many farm youth, Miller thought about being a veterinarian, her ultimate choice of career – combining agriculture and teaching – is a perfect fit.
“I get to not only teach students in a classroom, but give them the hands-on applications that will help them no matter where they go in life,” she said. “I am not only here for my students, but also to see my community continue to grow and flourish. … I love advocating for agriculture and my why is simply seeing the excitement in not only my students, but the next generation.”
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Lori Nealy: Ferguson Elementary School
After 33 years of teaching, Lori Nealy still looks forward to each day in her kindergarten classroom at Ferguson Elementary School – the hugs, the laughter, and yes, even the tattling.
“I am extremely blessed to be a part of these students’ educational paths,” Nealy says of her long career in education. “My biggest accomplishment is teaching more than a thousand students in my career. I have even taught kids of the kids.”
Nealy is one of this year’s winners of the district’s Crystal Apple Award. The Klamath County School District each year awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” They will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater.
During a recent lesson on number bonds, her kindergarten students donned silver and purple party hats, lining up as examples of how to break apart the number 10. Students proudly held up their boards displaying the correct equation: 10 = 5+5.
The Crystal Apple winner is known by coworkers as “an expert teacher who meets students where they are at and provides individualized instruction based on what each student needs.”
“Lori inspires students by instilling a love of learning at the kindergarten level and welcomes all children in, writes coworkers Mariah Campbell and Sabrina Johnson. “She is that safe person for all students and especially for those who need her most.”
Nealy grew up in Klamath Falls, attending Altamont and Peterson elementary schools, Brixner Junior High, and Mazama and Klamath Union high schools. After earning a master’s degree in education, she taught various grades in private and public schools. She even taught in a two-room schoolhouse in Fields, Oregon. She started teaching with the Klamath County School District in 2011 at Keno Elementary. She has been at Ferguson since 2017.
At Ferguson, she is a mentor for other teachers and often goes out of her way to help a student or staff member in need.
“She will lend a hand at a moment’s notice and often spends her personal time helping others learn and grow in their fields,” her nominators write.
Nealy credits her second-grade teacher, Mrs. Gunderson, with her choice of career, and her grandparents for motivating her to continue her education and be successful.
“She was an amazing teacher so I fell in love with learning and wanted to be just like her,” Nealy said. “Whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was always, ‘A teacher!’ ”
Nealy’s mother quit school in the sixth-grade, and Nealy saw the difficulties her mother had in raising a family without an education.
“When I became a mom, I knew that to be the best mom I could be, I needed an education and a good job to provide for my children.”
That job turned into more than a way to provide for a family. “My job is truly my passion,” she said, “and I want to thank my sons for sharing their mom with more than a thousand other children.”
For Nealy, receiving a Crystal Apple award is special because it symbolizes the values her grandparents taught her, the support of her family, and the realization of her dream.
She adds: “It also represents every nose I’ve wiped, every shoe I’ve tied, every tear I’ve dried, and every Band-Aid I’ve applied.”
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Mark Teel: Henley Middle School
Mark Teel, Henley Middle School’s head custodian, can fix – and clean – nearly anything, and he always has a smile for students. He’s one of the first people they see in the morning. He greets them in the lunch room and in the hallways, and if they’re on his basketball team, he’s there for them on the court.
“He ensures every student feels welcome and safe,” said Kristy Creed, principal of Henley Middle School in her letter nominating Teel for a Crystal Apple award. “Because Mark is uplifting and kind, students seek him for advice, and he often counsels students through anxiety, peer pressure, and bullying.”
Teel is one of this year’s winners of the district’s Crystal Apple Award. The Klamath County School District each year awards Crystal Apples to eight staff who best exemplify its mission: “Inspiring today’s students to meet tomorrow’s challenges.” They will receive their Crystal Apples during a celebration April 19 at the Ross Ragland Theater.
A former mill and construction worker, Teel began working with the district more than 20 years ago, first as a sweeper at Henley High School and then working at various schools over the years, including Henley High, Chiloquin, and Peterson. He also worked at the District Office for several years. He has been head custodian at Henley Middle School for the past five years.
Teel has also coached high school wrestling and currently spends time after work coaching middle school basketball at Henley.
He keeps the school sanitized and clean and also performs maintenance tasks. On a recent non-student day, he buffed the floor and fixed a low-flow drinking fountain in the cafeteria. He’s installed new windows and faucets, repaired dry wall, and fixed doors.
“I like the challenge, being able to get things squared away,” Teel said. “Basically anything that’s broke, I fix it – unless I can’t.”
He enjoys the day-to-day tasks, but ultimately what keeps him motivated and inspired are the students.
“This is a fun age group. They can be a handful, but that’s part of the challenge. My hope is that I’m able to change some kids lives for the better,” he said. “For me, as an adult, that’s what you should strive to do, to try to make somebody’s life better.”
In addition to his job and coaching duties, Teel is an ordained minister – one of his proudest moments was being asked to perform a wedding ceremony for one of his former wrestling athletes.
Creed first worked with Teel when she was a counselor at Chiloquin Junior/Senior High School. When she had a chance to work beside him again, she grabbed it.
“I started my career working with Mark and as I’m circling back towards the end of my career, I’ve considered it a privilege to work alongside Mark for all these years,” she said. “His work ethic is second to none and he takes great pride in a job well done.
“Mark models work integrity to our students and his humbleness makes him that much more deserving of this award.
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