Three Coachella Valley Educational Employees Honored as Riverside County Educators of the Year

Three educational employees were recognized in Coachella Valley as Riverside County Educators of the Year.

They were selected among 36 thousand educational employees in the county and surprised by Riverside County officials throughout the day.

The county recognized this year's Riverside County administrator, site support and school counselor of the year.

Director of Nutritional Services in Desert Sands Unified School District, Daniel Cappello, described the honor as one of the highlights of his career.

Cappello was recognized for his work helping hand out several meals to students throughout the pandemic.

“Generally we serve millions of meals, but it's inside and air conditioning with refrigeration, and moving it out in front of the schools really added a whole new dimension of difficulty. But we definitely pulled it off," said Cappello.

Ioana Robles, serves as a mentor to other educators specializing in math while also participating in anti-racism and equity programs.

Robles shared, “Learning about other cultures, because we do have other cultures, especially in California. So if we’re not reaching our students of color we’re not reaching anyone."

Lastly Riverside County Officials stopped by Bella Vista Elementary school to honor counselor, Damon Bonelli, who's been able to implement programs that combine both mental and physical health.

Bonelli says he is the only school counselor for 753 kids, and has given his best effort to support the students, "I can tell you, every classroom has two to eight kids who have lost a family member to death or violence in the last few years that we're in now. We all have to work together the best we can and coordinate what resources we have.”

Although the educators were grateful to receive their awards, they were ultimately thankful to continue serving students through their profession.

Riverside County's Superintendent, Edwin Gomez, described Cappello, Robles and Bonelli as outstanding educators, "Whether it's nutritional services, whether it's work with equity, and and tutoring, and mentoring, or whether it's being a counselor, I think that those are just three ways of really meeting the needs of our students. We're very proud of them. We are very grateful for their service. And I think that they are an outstanding representation of the groups that serve our students in the Coachella Valley."

This year's honorees will be further recognized in early May at the Celebrating Educators Luncheon in Downtown Riverside.