Frontline workers – Sachse school nurses – were lauded for their efforts during the April 27 regular meeting.

School nurses Mallory Mikesell, Gina Logan and Lara Kogel were recognized by the board for their work during the pandemic. The trio was recently awarded the Sachse Community Hero award by the Chamber of Commerce during the annual award banquet and they were awarded the Evi­dence of Excellence from the district.

“This past year has been a challenge, and no one has felt the challenge more than GISD nurses,” Director of Health Ser­vices Renee Kotsopoulos said. “I’m so glad to work with these nurses. They taught me about perseverance, patience and compassion.”

Kotsopoulos said that GISD nurses have helped students navigate the COVID-19 pan­demic and the emotional dis­tress that often accompany it. She added they often work sev­en days a week and during hol­idays.

“We are super appreciative of the work [Mikesell, Logan and Kogel] have done, as well as all of our nurses to get us through this challenging period.” said Robert Selders Jr, president of the board of trustees.

During the meeting, Super­intendent Ricardo Lopez said the district was among six se­lected out of 43 finalists for the Holdsworth Center Partnership, a training opportunity meant to help teachers thrive and stu­dents succeed.

The Holdsworth Center was founded in 2017 by H-E-B chairman Charles Butt. Lopez said the nonprofit incorporates non-traditional training and best practices from other school dis­tricts and corporate America.

During a follow-up inter­view, Lopez said acceptance to the Holdsworth Center is ex­clusive, adding only 17 of the more than 1,200 Texas school districts have been chosen since the foundation’s inception.

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By Dustin Butler • [email protected]