Laura Simpson, Brandon Walters Honored as Top RUSD Employees for the 2022-2023 School Year

There is so much to celebrate with June 1 marking the last day of the school year for the Rialto Unified School District. Along with celebrating top scholars as the school year comes to a close, the District recently honored its Teacher and Classified Employee of the Year.

Laura Diamond, a Simpson Elementary School fourth-grade teacher, and Brandon Walters, Sprinkler Systems Maintenance Worker in Maintenance and Operations, were honored at the RUSD Board of Education school meeting on May 24. The two educators were selected from 1,380 teachers and 1,200 classified employees, who are support staff, after an extensive, District-wide nomination and review process that involved Personnel, Education, Business, and Administrative Services working in congruence to finalize the top two selections.

Diamond is a veteran teacher, who started working in the District in 1989, before landing at Simpson Elementary School as a teacher in 1995. She has taught first, second, third, and fourth grades during her tenure.  

“Thank you for such an amazing honor,” Diamond stated upon receiving the honor at the podium, by RUSD Board Member Evelyn P. Dominguez. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect this. There are so many worthy teachers in our District, quietly putting in the work that so many people could be here in my place.” 

Diamond is known for her engaging lessons, captivating instructional strategies, and soft tone creating an engaging, welcoming environment for all her scholars. Her classroom is a sea of calming blue and green colors with plenty of flexible learning spaces where the magic of learning happens daily. Students in her classroom listen to stories, music, videos, and photographs that guide them through a learning journey.

It was noted that the meeting that at the fourth-grade level, Diamond’s California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) scores are impressively among the highest in the District in both Language Arts and math. She involves herself in collecting data from instruction, analyzing data, and consistently having conversations with families. Those who nominated Diamond stated, “Besides everything she does in the classroom, Diamond is also a mentor, a volunteer, a leader, and a supportive colleague. She is team teaching with a former second-grade teacher new to the fourth grade. With her support, their duo is thriving. She is on both the strategic planning team and an Action Plan leader with the goal of creating student-learning experiences that are inspiring at Simpson. 

In her free time, Diamond has worked with a team of students on the Rube Goldberg machine, taught literacy night activities, and done family activities at the Fall Carnival and Winter Wonderland events. 

Diamond said her goal has always been to deliver quality instruction to students every day. 

“I have 33 faces who look at me every day,” Diamond said. “They are relying on me. Teachers play a lot of roles but the way I see it teachers have two jobs; the first thing I need to do is to convince those kids that deep down in their bones they can learn and they can master those standards no matter where they came from, no matter what’s going on in their life. The second thing I need to do is provide the most rigorous and targeted instruction so that all the kids learn.”

The room erupted with mass applause.

Diamond is married to her husband, Jeff Mays, a 1986 graduate of Eisenhower High School, and the couple has one daughter, Madison Mays, both who attended the recognition ceremony. 

Walters, the “Classified Employee of the Year,” grew up in the City of Rialto and is an alumnus of the RUSD. He graduated from Zupanic High (now Virtual Academy) School after attending Morgan Elementary School, Frisbie Middle School, and Eisenhower High School. He began working in the RUSD as a substitute employee in 2006. Walters was promoted to a permanent Grounds Worker I in 2010, and then in 2019, he was promoted to a Sprinkler Systems Maintenance Worker.

“It’s a great honor to be selected out of so many employees who are hard workers,” said Walters as he addressed the Board of Education and viewing audience after receiving the honor. “For me, it is a great privilege and an honor to be chosen for this award. Thank you to all those involved for noticing and knowing my worth.”

Walters is also a family man. He and his wife, Martiza, have five sons: Luke, Jason, Zack, Sean, and Ezra whose ages range from 4 to 12 years old. 

Known as a creative and artistic person who enjoys his family life, he looked at his children during the school meeting to make sure the five sons understood the essence of the recognition he earned.  

“All this hard work, I do for you, boys,” Walters replied. “I want you boys to always work hard. If it’s in school, the job you’ll have someday, or your family life, I want you to work hard. It’s not about being seen or about getting anything out of it, but rather, it’s because it’s the right thing to do.” 

RUSD Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Cuauhtémoc Avila joined both honorees and their families and staff to honor the two education leaders for their hard work and determination.