Each week, Clover Park School District (CPSD) will highlight a school or profession in our district on our social media pages with a #SuperSchoolShoutout where we celebrate the students and staff that make our district beam with pride.
This week, we’re showing our CPSD pride by giving a shoutout to two members of the student nutrition team in honor of National School Lunch Week! Hudtloff kitchen lead Artesty Wade and catering lead and float lead JoLee Watson showed us what’s cooking in their kitchens and shared the importance of a nutritious diet.
Wade has worked at CPSD for 17 years and became the kitchen lead for Hudtloff Middle School last school year. Transitioning from elementary to middle school and from a team of two to a team of five has been an exciting shift for Wade.
Serving breakfast and lunch to more than 600 students each day is a daunting task, but Wade leads her team with an organized and collaborative approach. They count the caloric value of each meal and make sure fruits and vegetables are readily available for students.
“I like to see how kids get excited when we have something they love to eat,” Wade said. “We had spaghetti today, and it was just flying out the door because we make sure our food smells good, looks good and tastes good.”
After nine years at CPSD, Watson continues to love her job more and more each year. She is a float lead, which means she substitutes for kitchen leads and managers throughout the district. She also works as a caterer and gets to travel to different schools and office buildings to serve delicious food to students and staff throughout the district.
This summer, Watson catered multiple events with more than one thousand people in attendance. These were significant undertakings, and Watson and the student nutrition team went above and beyond to support the district by providing everyone with tasty meals.
Watson loves cooking for others so much that when she is off the clock, she also runs a cake-making and decorating business. “I love to make people happy, and giving people good food with good service is the best way,” Watson said.
THANK YOU for highlighting school district staff that are just as dedicated as the teachers. My brother is a custodian & his wife a “lunch lady” in schools in Missouri. I am just as proud of them as my mother who taught for 29 years.