Values Ambassador Spotlight: Sokha Prom, Jeanee Brown, Terren Tullis, Elisa Vaughan, and Deborah Stevens

Nominated by: William Zuiss   |   Value: Excellence 

At Heartspring, excellence isn’t just a value — it’s a daily commitment to the children in our care. We celebrate wins as a team, because everything is truly a group effort, and there will always be someone to have your back and support you.

For their dedication to our students during a difficult transition, a fellow Heartspring employee nominated the former S123 team to recognize Jeanee Brown, Sokha Prom, Deborah Stevens, Terren Tullis, and Elisa Vaughan’s efforts and outstanding collaboration, leadership, and integrity without a permanent teacher in the classroom earlier this summer.

Whether it was maintaining daily schedules or embracing opportunities like APE gymnastics outings, they consistently chose what was best for their students.

“They didn’t make excuses,” said nominator William Zuiss. “They embraced the challenge and pushed each other and their students to grow.”

They took turns leading the classroom, handling IEPs, and ensuring students were still learning while they brought in substitute teachers and other Heartspring teachers to help fill the gap.

“Although we never want to be without a teacher, this highlights the fact that when those unfortunate things occur, our team rises to the occasion to ensure our students are well taken care of,” said Mike Bonner, Heartspring Therapeutic Residential & Day School Superintendent.

Lunch Bunch, one of our students’ (and staff’s) favorite outings, includes going out to eat at restaurants near our campus. This group continued to support students at Lunch Bunch, despite most of their students having challenging mealtime behaviors, like taking food from other people’s plates. However, the team considers Lunch Bunch as a prime example of giving the students an opportunity to try and succeed, because they enjoyed their outing without any incidents, and it gave students and staff something to smile about.