The purpose of the Certified and Classified Employees of the Quarter Program is to recognize excellence as accomplished by certified and classified employees of Grand Forks Public Schools. To be considered for the award, the employee must be a valuable asset to the Grand Forks Public Schools community by completing their job duties to the highest standard and display a commitment to students/parents/guardians and the school/program/school system.

The Certified and Classified Employees of the Quarter Program applies to all full- and part-time employees who have worked in the Grand Forks Public Schools system for at least one calendar year. The Certified and Classified Employees of the Quarter Program is reviewed periodically and subject to change without notice. 

• Examples of certified employees include teachers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers, and school psychologists.
• Examples of classified employees include custodians, nurses, paraprofessionals, receptionists, secretaries/assistants, in addition to building and ground employees (carpenter, maintenance, electrician, HVAC mechanic, etc.), child nutrition (cooks, cook managers, drivers, etc.), and district personnel (accounting, secretaries/assistants, payroll, etc.).
• Note: administrators (including principals and associate principals) are not eligible for this program.

Nominations are open to the entire community. A district committee will use a scoring rubric (1-4) to evaluate each applicant on the criteria listed below. Committee members will first individually score the applications, and will then discuss their scoring in order to reach consensus on a Certified and Classified employee of each quarter. The award recipients will receive a plaque and be recognized at a Grand Forks School Board meeting. Please click here to view the rubric the nominations will be scored on.

Nominations for Employees of the 1st Quarter closed on October 20, 2021.

4th Quarter

• Certified: Miya Lautt, special education teacher, Elroy Schroeder Middle School
• Classified: Kayla Erickson, ENCORE coordinator

3rd Quarter

• Certified: Jeff Compton, network services coordinator
• Classified: Taunya Schleicher, grant writer

2nd Quarter

• Certified: Lori Eken, 6th grade teacher, Elroy Schroeder Middle School
• Classified: Pamela Soderberg, interventions para-educator at Grand Forks Central High School

1st Quarter

• Certified: Jennifer Modeen, social worker and homeless liaison, Winship Elementary School
• Classified: Sherri Motherwell, school nurse, Phoenix Elementary School/South Middle School

2nd Quarter

• Certified: Kristy Hanson, education coordinator, Head Start
• Classified: Ione Seidlinger, EL paraeducator, Red River High School

3rd Quarter

• Certified: Trevor Lennon, business education teacher, Grand Forks Central High School
• Classified: Ken Carlson, print shop supervisor, Mark Sanford Education Center

4th Quarter

• Certified: Emily Parrill, foreign language teacher, Red River High School
• Classified: Milly Lafferty, custodian, Elroy Schroeder Middle School