Director of Academic Programs Aaron Jones addresses the Lucerne Valley USD team on Monday as Superintendent Peter Livingston, members of the school board and others look on. Peter Day photo
Published on Tuesday, August 4, 2026
The Lucerne Valley USD’s annual Welcome Back Breakfast on Monday, August 3rd again brought all staff members together in the Sgt. Brian Walker Memorial Gymnasium at the Middle High School to share a meal, catch up and get ready for Wednesday’s official start of the 2026-27 school year.
School board members Jason Hansen (president), Jim Harvey and Chelsea LaGrange were in attendance, and Mr. Hansen led the Pledge of Allegiance. Master of ceremonies of the event was Superintendent Peter Livingston, who introduced departments heads, presented years of service awards and shared his thoughts for making this school year a memorable and meaningful one.
Mr. Livingston began his presentation by sharing the district’s belief statement: “We embrace being a small district where each student has a name and not just a number.” He then presented his talk, “Everyone is An Educator.” “An educator is anyone whose actions positively influence the learning, growth, safety, well-being or future of a child,” he said.
An accompanying slide presentation gave examples of who in the school district serve as “educators”: office staff, library staff, food service workers, custodians, aides, maintenance staff, transportation staff, para-educators, campus security, technology staff, warehouse staff, coaches, teachers, special education staff, counselors, psychologists, nurses, speech therapists, board members, volunteers, district office staff, substitutes, administrators, directors and, last but not least, the superintendent.
Besides the belief that “everyone is an educator,” Mr. Livingston said:
“We build people. We invest in the growth of every employee, leader and student.
“We listen. We value the voices of staff, students, families and our community.
“We learn together. We collaborate, reflect, and continuously improve through shared learning.
“We support one another. We build trust through encouragement, coaching, and shared responsibility.
“We create opportunity. We remove barriers and open doors so every student can thrive.”
Furthermore, Mr. Livingston said, “We exist to ensure every student is known, supported, challenged, inspired, prepared and loved.”
Student speaker Genesis Ayala
STUDENT SPEAKER
Lucerne Valley student-athlete Genesis Ayala gave the student keynote speech, sharing her glowing review of the school district and her commitment to Career Technical Education and athletics.
“From the teachers who built the foundation of my education to the ones who challenged me to become the student I am today, everyone of you has made an impact on my journey,” said Genesis, a 3.8 GPA student who serves as a CTE ambassador. “As I’ve gone over the years I’ve watched our school become a place that I was excited to come to everyday.”
Furthermore, Genesis added, “So many of our teachers go beyond what they’re required to do. They stay after school to coach, advise clubs, attend games and show up for students in many ways.”
5 YEAR SERVICE AWARDS: From left: teacher Kirsten Hapsas, instructional aide Lizbhet Gonzalez Amaro, teacher Stephanie Klinger, instructional aide Joseph Muller, instructional aide Karla Palacios, teacher Kaitlyn Logan, and food service worker Shawn Johnson.
10 YEAR SERVICE AWARDS: teacher Sendy Ortiz, Superintendent Peter Livingston and Director of Compliance/Credentials Manager Melissa Cook.
15 YEAR SERVICE AWARDS: teachers Michelle “Shelly” Lane and Leah Paddack
25 YEAR SERVICE AWARD: LVES office manager Karol Schuffield and Virtual Academy teacher Mary Eller (with Assistant Superintendent of Business Olga Fisher and school board member Jim Harvey looking on).
35 YEAR SERVICE AWARD: Teacher Cindy Lazenby, center, with Superintendent Peter Livingston, School Board President Jason Hansen, board member Chelsea LaGrange, Assist. Superintendent of Business Olga Fisher and School Board member Jim Harvey.
YEARS OF SERVICE AWARDS
Mr. Livingston introduced the Years of Service Awardees and acknowledged educator Dolores Barela, who is back at the elementary school for her 46th year.
5 Years: teacher Kirsten Hapsas, instructional aide Lizbhet Gonzalez Amaro, teacher Stephanie Klinger, instructional aide Joseph Muller, instructional aide Karla Palacios, teacher Kaitlyn Logan, and food service worker Shawn Johnson.
10 Years: teacher Sendy Ortiz, Superintendent Peter Livingston and Director of Compliance/Credentials Manager Melissa Cook.
15 Years: teachers Michelle “Shelly” Lane and Leah Paddack
25 Years: LVES office manager Karol Schuffield and Virtual Academy teacher Mary Eller
35 Years: Virtual Academy teacher Cindy Lazenby
Department heads and school administrators also introduced their new staff members.
A number of vendors had booths with representatives sharing their products that included an array of credit unions, health care and others that cater to school employees. Cafe 247 owner Kathy Nielsen and her crew served breakfast burritos, juice, fruit and other goodies.