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Ginny Maiwald, the Menlo Park City School District’s director of student services, has won the California Special Education Administrator of the Year award from the Association of California School Administrators, it was announced on March 23.
Ms. Maiwald’s nomination papers, submitted by the district’s school psychologists, program specialists and the department’s administrative assistant, say that although Ms. Maiwald has been with the district only since 2013, she has transformed the district’s culture in that time.
A letter accompanying the nomination from district Superintendent Maurice Ghysels says Ms. Maiwald has “influenced and inspired teachers, support staff and members of her team.” In addition, it says, “parents feel and truly believe they are a partner in a place where their children’s needs are genuinely considered and met.”
Before winning the state award, Ms. Maiwald was named the Special Education Administrator of the Year for San Mateo and San Francisco counties by the administrators association.
At a presentation at the district’s March 14 school board meeting, Ms. Maiwald was at first at a loss for words.
“I speak three languages and none of them seem to work right now,” she said.
She praised her team and the school psychologists. “The work we do is hard. We have the hardest cases,” she said. “We get through it with laughter and fun.”
Ms. Maiwald accompanied her words with sign language, and the reason soon became clear. Her adult daughter, who is deaf, was there. “She’s my inspiration,” she said, as is her son, who is also deaf. “This is what we do, this is why I love you all,” she said.
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I have been working under Ms. Maiwald’s direction since 2012, beginning in the South Bay. I literally followed her here because she was such a tremendous leader, and despite my lengthy commute, I have not regretted my decision to work for her and MPCSD in the least. I am a school psychologist and Licensed Educational Psychologist in private practice, and Ms. Maiwald allows me the autonomy in my role to develop myself, my passions, and interests, in support of our kids. I have had more professional opportunities for growth that I could have imagined, and Ms. Maiwald is always supportive, respectful, and honoring of my specializations as well as those of others. Never has she allowed any of us in special education to feel the stress of the daily happenings and she is thoughtful of all of our staff, parents, and kids. I could not be more honored or happier to work with and for Ms. Maiwald, and she is truly deserving of this prestigious award.
Congratulations to the talented and compassionate Ginny Maiwald. Her leadership has brought a whole new perspective to Student Services in MPCSD. Her knowledge and skills have inspired change and support for our community’s children. She has brought long deserved services to the students and broadened their learning allowing for long term success. A well deserved award – congratulations!
Ginny hired me for a position at MPCSD several years ago, and I will never forget the voicemail she left on my phone asking me to become a part of the Special Education team. Her words were so sweet. She went above and beyond to help the staff feel appreciated. She acknowledges everyone in her team. I believe those traits are what make her a special leader. I no longer work at MPCSD, but I will miss Ginny, as her presence embraced everyone.