Jennifer Tompkins of Oak Hill Creek Elementary School is the SDCCU Classroom Heroes recipient for March 2019. Lisa teaches second grade in the Escondido Union School District, and is a dedicated educator who goes above and beyond for her students.
Lisa was nominated for the SDCCU Classroom Heroes program by a colleague, who wrote: Mrs. Tompkins is an exemplary example of an INCREDIBLE teacher that truly goes above and beyond for her children! She works in a low-income school and many of her students have emotional needs that are not being met at home. She not only treats each and every child as his or her own person, but she goes above and beyond to create different learning styles to emphasize the child's strengths so no child ever feels as though they aren't smart enough. Her incredible teaching abilities extends beyond her classroom! Because her school is in a low-income area, a large fence was added to the entire exterior of the school. Mrs. Tompkins took it upon herself to create 30+ 6 foot hand painted murals to hang throughout the entire school to give it a colorful and "inviting" atmosphere. Depicted are scenes throughout California--beautiful desert sunsets, underwater scenes, lush rain forests, orange groves, and MUCH, MUCH more! The children even got to weigh in on what they wanted to have painted! On top of that, she spent her personal time ensuring that the entire exterior playground areas had custom hanging pallet board frames made, so each class could hang their own succulent/garden plants from it to experience the wonder of the growth cycles, which gave the entire school! Mrs. Tompkins has dedicated over 30 years of amazing teaching to this community and has spent countless hours to ensure each student (not just her own class) feels safe and supported at school!
The SDCCU Classroom Heroes program recognizes outstanding educators and the tremendous impact they have on their students. The program was launched in March of 2015 and has already honored dozens of teachers at schools throughout San Diego County. Teachers, students, parents, and community members are all encouraged to nominate an outstanding educator by visiting this page.
Program winners receive a$500 SDCCU® Visa® Gift Card and are featured on San Diego iHeartRadio stations, and ABC 10News.