Phoenix-Talent SD’s Lambert honored as ‘Everyday Hero’
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022
PHOENIX – Phoenix-Talent School District assistant superintendent Tiffanie Lambert is one of seven local recipients of the United Way of Jackson County’s 2022 Everyday Hero award, UWJC announced Monday.
Launched in 2021, the Everyday Hero award is supported in part by the Joe & Frances Naumes Foundation and intended to celebrate those “who do great things every day.” Each honoree received a congratulatory letter and a check for $500 on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
"I feel truly honored to receive the Everyday Heroes award from the United Way,” Lambert said. “I am grateful to be recognized as one of the many people in Jackson County that stepped up and responded after the Almeda Fire to support the students and families of Phoenix-Talent Schools. I worked alongside an amazing team of dedicated individuals and will forever be inspired by their tireless, selfless work."
In addition to Lambert, the Everyday Hero award winners for 2022 were: Cass Cornwell, a zone captain in the wildfire recovery effort; Ruch Outdoor Community School volunteer Frank Kukla; volunteer fitness instructor Barb Meredith; Harry & David human resource generalist Steven Sparks; Jackson County Early Intervention Services intervention specialist Inga Leed; and Jackson County Sherriff’s Department deputy Neftali Mateos.
Lambert, who has been the PTS assistant superintendent of teaching and learning since July 2016, was nominated by Phoenix-Talent SD superintendent Brent Barry, who explained in the application that Lambert “was instrumental in leading our district through the most tumultuous two-year stretch in its history with integrity, compassion, courage and a focus on students and families that are traditionally underserved. She continues this work each day, as she serves our school community. For this, she is so deserving of this recognition and it is my pleasure to share with you all of her amazing accomplishments.”
Barry went on to highlight Lambert’s role in helping Phoenix High School’s 2021 seniors hit a 93% graduation rate, 10 points better than the state average. That included a 100% graduation rate for Migrant students and 91% clip for students with disabilities, two programs Lambert directly supervises.
The application also emphasized Lambert’s role in the district’s recovery effort following the 2020 Almeda fire, which left 700 PTS students homeless and scattered across the Rogue Valley.
“Tiffanie leaned heavily on her disaster response training and her ties to the community to help our families get the help they needed,” Barry noted, “an effort that went far beyond their educational needs. In that role, and in all her roles that followed, Tiffanie was instrumental in gathering the voices of the traditionally unheard, gaining their trust and ensuring that their needs were delivered to the ears of those in power.”
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, Lambert formed a logistics team through which she was able to set up a Response Team that navigated between the Emergency Operations Center at the Jackson County Expo and three strategically placed remote education centers in White City, Central Point and Ashland. She also worked closely with the district’s healthcare partners to make sure health services would be available to its families, and helped the community separate fact from fiction by maintaining the PTS website and social media channels.
The application also detailed Lambert’s work in the chaotic days after the fire:
“To track down Phoenix-Talent families at the Expo, Tiffanie mobilized a team that went door-to-door in the overflowing RV parking lot. When it became apparent that P-T parents needed a place for their children to go while the adults navigated insurance claims, housing options and damage assessments, Tiffanie organized an on-site daycare staffed with P-T employees.”
For more information, please contact Phoenix-Talent School District communication specialist Joe Zavala at joe.zavala@phoenix.k12.or.us.
