Centerville School District’s Karie Rolfe has been named 2022 Regional Classified School Employee of the Year by ESD 112. Rolfe is a paraeducator who wears many hats at her school, serving as Special Education paraeducator, recess supervisor, bus loading and unloading assistant, librarian, and more.

She joins a statewide list of eight other regional educational service district finalists for the Washington State Classified School Employee of the Year Award, which is determined by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The state award winner and regional finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a year of leadership development and are invited to several annual recognition events.

“Karie is an advocate for students!” wrote Kristin Cameron, Principal at Centerville School, in a letter of recommendation. “Her passion for people shows in her daily work ethic… Karie is well-liked and trusted by students and staff. She leads by example.”

With 16 years of teaching experience, Rolfe has worked at Centerville School, a rural school that serves just 84 students, for seven years. She has found working at the small school, which serves as a cornerstone for the community, to be a good fit. Rolfe feels a sort of kinship with many of her Special Education students and draws from personal experience, teaching her young students about the value of not giving up when traditional measures of success in school don’t come easily.

“I struggled as a student for most of my life, things did not come easily to me,” Rolfe explained. “It really wasn’t until I went to WSU-Vancouver that I flourished in school. So, I understand what it is like to struggle academically, and I share that with the students I work with.”

A mother of three students who has worked with Rolfe in her role as paraeducator, Lani Molnar, shared the impact that she has had on students at Centerville School.

“She is a remarkable person who pours so much of herself into the children of Centerville School,” Molnar wrote in her letter of recommendation. “The kids look up to Mrs. Rolfe and can count on her for going the extra mile to help any student reach a goal, complete assignments, feel successful, and always, cared for… The students at Centerville School are blessed to have Mrs. Rolfe at their service, eager to assist them with her compassion and grace.”

To learn more about the Classified School Employee of the year award, visit OSPI’s website. More information about the state award will be released soon.