Jim DuDevoir
School Custodian
Sherwood Heights Elementary School, Auburn School District

Nominator Breann Crocker (Educator): “Everyone in our building loves Jim because he truly shows he cares about everyone. He is always there when we need him. He never complains and he makes it so that we can focus on teaching the children and not have to worry about the building itself. Our school would not be what it is without him.”

The Auburn School Department stands together with our staff, students, families, community, and nation, against racism, inequality, and injustice against our black and brown community members. During these difficult times, we recognize the feelings of sadness and anger that people have as a result of George Floyd’s death and the many other black and brown lives that have been lost due to police brutality. 

The Auburn School Department will continue to work at examining our policies, actions, and behaviors to ensure our black and brown students and their families feel valued and respected. We are committed to doing whatever it takes to provide safe and supportive learning environments where every student is treasured, regardless of race, skin color, national origin and ancestry. The Auburn School Department will do better to combat racism and systemic oppression through education and engagement. We need to hold ourselves and others accountable to our core values of compassion, honesty, responsibility, courage, fairness, and respect. We speak of kindness and recognize its power when we need to stand side by side, especially during difficult and challenging times. This calls for ongoing conversations and actions to combat institutionalized racism. 

As we all struggle to find ways to listen, learn and talk about these difficult issues within ourselves and with our children and our peers, we thought we would share some resources that you may consider using. Please know that you can reach out to guidance counselors, teachers, and administrators if you need support. The resource list can be found at https://bit.ly/3cyzbMN.