At their regularly scheduled meeting on February 25, 2021, the Board of Education recognized employees from the security and transportation departments as LPS Heroes. LPS Heroes are employees who go above and beyond their normal duties to make sure our district continues to be successful, and these employees provide outstanding representation throughout the community.

Transportation
Michael Leigvold was recognized for an incident that actually happened last fall. Michael is a para on one of LPS’s school buses, and he also rides the RTD bus to work. On this particular day, he got off at his bus stop on Windermere and Littleton Boulevard and noticed a small child walking her dog, though it might be more accurate to say the dog was walking the child. The dog was pulling her in and out of the roadway. There wasn’t a parent in sight, and Michael was afraid the girl or her dog may be hit by a car. He contacted the LPS bus driver he works with for advice, and they decided to call the police. He took care of the child and her dog until the authorities and the girl’s father arrived. Michael is an excellent, kind-hearted person, and the care he demonstrated that day is the same type of care he provides all LPS students each and every day. LPS is grateful to have Michael on the Transportation team. Thank you for the care you show for others, Michael!

Michelle Molina is a trainer in the transportation department. This year, Transportation had to reduce the number of trainers from five to three. Michelle stepped up to fill any gaps: she created a special education transportation manual for the department; she has taken over organization of the department’s employee recognition; she took over as the lead on hiring while  colleague was out on medical leave; and she does many other things to bring positivity to the environment at TSC. She doesn’t miss a beat and consistently goes above and beyond. Thank you for your dedication to the department and to LPS, Michelle!

Security
Melissa Bill, Felicia Cain, Rachel Delgado, Leah Raymond, and Jennifer Saldate are district security officers. They continue to provide a safe and secure learning environment for all LPS students and staff. Since March of 2020, they have responded to various events and incidents throughout the district. They respond 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Each district security officer has assisted LPS middle and high schools whose security teams may have been impacted by Covid quarantines, which has ensured school security is not compromised but remains fully functional and operational. Each team member also volunteered personal time to assist in developing and carrying out a comprehensive security operations plan for LPS football games. This guaranteed uninterrupted security operations and compliance with Tri-County Health and CHSAA mandates and policies. Thank you to Jennifer, Leah, Rachel, Felicia, and Melissa for going the extra mile to serve the district and to make sure each facility is safe and secure.