LIBERTY — Three more Liberty Central School District staff members were honored during the April 9 Board of Education meeting.

Recognized with Excellence in Service Awards were high school social worker Gina Castelonia, high school cleaner Mary Chanov and elementary teacher Jennifer Eisenberg.

Gina Castelonia

Castelonia was recognized for her dedication to helping students and staff and working to create student engagement projects, especially the Genius Hour Day held in March.

“Gina has worked hard the past few months in preparation for Genius Hour Day,” one nominator wrote. “The event was so much fun and a huge success among students and staff. She is a true leader in our building.”

Another nomination showed appreciation for Castelonia and the Lighthouse team for the event.

“(Genius Hour) took a tremendous amount of organization, teamwork and resilience. Gina stayed positive, was able to get buy-in from staff members to make this first Genius Hour a fun experience for both students and staff.”

Castelonia’s work throughout the year is vital to student success, a third nomination said.

“Ms. Castelonia goes above and beyond for students and staff. She offers compassion, a safe space, multiple resources and guidance,” the nomination read. “I speak for the majority of students and staff that would agree she exudes passion in helping others. She is instrumental in student engagement in numerous projects like Lighthouse, Comfort Closet and Genius Hour. LHS is very fortunate to have an enthusiastic and caring social worker like Ms. Castelonia.”

Mary Chanov

Chanov’s cheery personality, dedication and hard work were noted by her nominator.

“Ms. Mary works tirelessly around our building and always has a smile upon her face when I come into the school each morning,” the nomination read. “She is dedicated to our students, who also love her, and teaches them to take pride in our school by reinforcing that they pick up their spaces when lunch is done. She hauls, lifts, cleans, assembles, disassembles — you name. Mary is fearless and strong — a woman warrior!”

Jennifer Eisenberg

Eisenberg’s solution-oriented personality, leadership and helpful attitude were factors in her nomination.

“Jen is a solution driven person. Before even coming to anyone with the problem, she always seems to have a readily made solution to the problem,” a nomination read. “She thinks from all angles of problems to collaborate with colleagues.”

Eisenberg’s leadership and team-focused approach is valuable to the elementary school, according to her nominators.

“Her natural leadership skills have shown in her work as a teacher, facilitator and team member on our report card committees, and any other committee she joins,” a nomination read. “She brings knowledge, data, and experience to support her solutions. Above all else she always goes above and beyond to provide the best education to students.”

She also steps in wherever needed.

“Recently, we found it difficult to staff the building with several people out sick. We needed to have AIS cover classrooms,” the nomination read. “When I called Jen to ask for help, her response was, ‘sure, what can I do to pitch in?’” After being thanked, she said, “We are a team. We will do whatever we need to help each other out and make it through the day,” the nomination continued. “Jen is an asset to our building and we are grateful for her every day.”

Each month, staff members nominate others they believe are going above and beyond, be it a single act of excellence or kindness or a continuous work ethic.