Tempe Elementary honors 23 employees at annual Excellence Awards; Thai Foundation gives $100 gift cards

The Tempe Elementary School District recognized 23 employees and district staff during its Excellence Awards ceremony on May 20, 2026. Dr. Gwen Maher, the district’s chief of employee experience, introduced the program and said the winners were selected from monthly “spotlight” awards and evaluated against a rubric to choose the annual honorees.

“We couldn’t let the excellence awards be introduced by anyone other than our incredible kids,” Dr. Gwen Maher said as student video introductions preceded the presentations. Dr. Maher thanked the district’s employee experience, communications and IT teams for producing the event and invited board leadership and partners to present awards.

Chris Bush, president of the Thai Foundation, joined the board on stage and presented a $100 gift card to each awardee as a token of appreciation for staff who support students and families. Among employees singled out in the presentation were Jesse Palmer, identified as the district’s director of transportation, and several instructional assistants, custodial staff and administrators praised for classroom leadership and student support.

The ceremony combined brief student statements with colleague nominations for each recipient. After calling the winners forward and reading short remarks about their impact, the district took a group photograph and offered attendees light refreshments before returning to regular agenda business.

The governing board welcomed parents and community members to the event and noted the awards were part of broader community and philanthropic support for staff recognition. The meeting proceeded with the rest of the agenda following the ceremony.