MISD Leader Awards are given annually by the Foundation to recognize District staff who go above and beyond for their students, colleagues, and the community. Staff are nominated and voted for by their peers to receive this award.
“When I speak with current students and alumni, they have glowing things to say about their experiences in the Marion Independent School District. Staff make a real difference every day positively impacting student’s lives. We appreciate district staff and are excited about the opportunity to recognize them and show our appreciation!” -Elisabeth Kissling, Executive Director
This year after many heartwarming nominations, MISD staff voted and two people were recognized with 2023 MISD Leader Awards. The recipients are Patty Bazan and Alyssa Kupka.
Patty Bazan serves as an Enrichment Teacher at Marion Home School Assistance Program. Retiring at the end of the school year, in a portion of her nominations a colleague shared, “Patty is retiring this year after serving Marion Home School Assistance Program for over 25 years. She has so much energy and enthusiasm for the kids and comes up with wonderful games and activities for the students to keep them engaged and excited. She also goes above and beyond to help the staff of MHSAP by giving away free games/activities that they can share with their supervising families! She is an asset to this program and will be missed when she retires!” She was recognized at a meeting for MHSAP staff.
Alyssa Kupka is the Activities Secretary at Marion High School. In her nomination a co-worker shared “Alyssa is the queen of multitasking. She handles so many things and is such an important part of the success of MHS Athletics and Activities. Alyssa is dependable, knowledgeable, and extremely approachable. She exemplifies many characteristics of a great leader such as top-notch communication skills, flexibility, and dependability. If Alyssa is handling something for your program you can trust that it will be taken care of quickly, efficiently and correctly. She is helpful to a fault and always makes the time to listen and offer ideas. She does more behind the scenes than anyone knows and makes the job look easy when it is anything but. As a co-worker at MHS and a coach I cannot express how thankful I am to have Alyssa on my team! She makes being involved fun. I look forward to working with her and knowing that I have a humble expert behind me! She is simply the best!” Alyssa was surprised by her family at the high school when she received her award announcement.
