LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Melissa Moreno was nominated by her principal, Neil McGaffey.

"I have known Ms. Moreno since June 2016, when I was selected to be the new principal at Rosebank Elementary school," said McGaffey. "Melissa has taught a mild/moderate SDC Pre-Kinder – 2nd class at Rosebank for three years, and taught for six years before that at another school. She is such a gifted teacher. One notices it as soon as one walks into her classroom.  It has a warm and loving environment, although when needed, she is firm and demanding. If you did not know it was an SDC class, you would think her classroom was a regular Kindergarten or 1st grade class."

Ms. Moreno is a master at putting the necessary structures in place so students can not only understand what is expected each day, but can thrive and learn at their own level and pace. She has always handled all discipline problems, even when a student is having a complete meltdown. 

Besides her room environment being one of the best at Rosebank, her results are among the best. Last year, most of her students were reading at a higher level than the average Kindergarten student. Many of her students, who started out not being able to write their name, were writing complete sentences by the end of the year. With her aides, she is able to plan her day so that each child receives the necessary intervention for the skills they are lacking at that time. It is evident every day just how much effort she has put into her planning and execution of her lessons. 

Ms. Moreno is an exemplary teacher in every way. She maintains excellent communication and rapport with her students’ parents. She seeks out constructive criticism and asks for feedback on new strategies her school's administration is putting in place. She is also very active with the community of educators at large. This year, she brought in a guest speaker to give parents a presentation on good parenting skills and how they can better understand and help their children.

"Ms. Moreno is part of my instructional leadership team and has taken on a leadership role in mentoring one of my Kindergarten teachers to have better classroom management and transitions," said McGaffey. "She has taught her the importance of consistency and follow through. Ms. Moreno is definitely one of the best teachers at Rosebank. She has led my Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies Committee this year. Through this committee, my staff has shifted their focus from catching students misbehaving to rewarding students for following our core values. It has completely changed the atmosphere on campus and improved behavioral management. She also brought in a guest speaker to give professional development to my staff on strategies to improve classroom behavior. To date, she has led two of my professional development staff meetings this year on revamping our referral process and our students' success team meetings." 

"When I think of a teacher who is confident, organized, and an example of the highest standards in teaching, I think of Melissa Moreno," McGaffey concluded. "In September, she was awarded one of only five San Diego County Teachers of the Year out of about 22,000 teachers countywide. It is an honor to work with her and learn from her."