Superintendent Robert Mitchell is pleased to announce Cumberland’s 2020 District Education Support Professional of the Year – Alysa Coleman
We congratulate Alysa on this outstanding achievement. As an Administrative Assistant at North Cumberland Middle School, she wears many hats throughout the school day. Alysa is a dedicated, hard-working professional. She is always available to provide assistance to the school’s faculty, staff, students and their families.
Alysa was recognized during the December 10, 2020 Cumberland School Committee meeting.
Mrs. Bethany Coughlin, Principal at North Cumberland Middle School submitted the following nomination:
It is my pleasure to nominate Alysa Coleman as the 2020 Support Professional of the Year. Although only in her third year with us, the impact she has had on school operations has been outstanding. She is organized, thoughtful, hard working, and focused. Qualities that make her great at her job. What takes her to the next level is her ability to intelligently, independently, and effectively problem solve situations and execute solutions that benefit the entire school.
From the beginning, Alysa has approached her position with a “business” mindset, not necessarily doing things the way they have always been done. She has improved upon current systems, as well as developing her own systems so that the school runs efficiently on a daily basis. She chooses to extend her job responsibilities beyond that of typical clerical duties. Over the course of the summer, she assists with scheduling of students, she communicates regularly with families, and she addresses the needs of staff and students at all levels. Her kind, yet business-minded approach, has earned her a great deal of respect from the entire school community. In fact, it was the staff who overwhelmingly named Alysa as their choice for this acknowledgement.
Alysa does not shed her responsibilities when out of the office. She regularly communicates outside of work if she feels the need is urgent. As an example, while handling our first positive student COVID case, she monitored her email over the weekend (without direction or expectation from me) and informed me of a RIDOH voicemail that was left at the school. She contacted me on a Sunday and we were able to address the situation immediately. This is one of many examples I could provide of Alysa taking the initiative to address a situation rather than waiting to be told what to do. A quality that is essential in these trying times.
I would appreciate your consideration in choosing Alysa Coleman as our 2020 District Support Professional of the Year. The fact that she has made such a huge impact on our entire school community in the short time she has been with us demonstrates her talent, work ethic, and dedication to the district as a whole.