Celebrating our 2026 Staff Member of the Year finalists

As a Lead Learning Success Coach at ASU Prep Digital, Curtis Romey works with about 140 students across all grade levels. His responsibilities include academic advising, college readiness, family communication and coordination with teachers and the special education team. At the center of it all is a simple goal: making sure students know someone is paying attention.

In a virtual school, building those connections takes intention. There are no hallways to cross or chance conversations between classes. Curtis makes those connections happen through consistent outreach and a deep understanding of the students he serves.

“I want every student in my group to know someone is paying attention,” Curtis says. “Someone who notices when they have stopped working or answering their phone, who calls back when they do not pick up, who actually knows what they are working toward.”

Curtis joined ASU Prep in 2021 after years of teaching and previous experience with Florida Virtual School. The Learning Success Coach role appealed to him because it brought together work he had already been doing in his English classroom, from helping students plan for credits and college to supporting them through personal and academic challenges.

That student-first mindset shapes how Curtis approaches his work. He looks for ways to remove obstacles before they become bigger problems, whether that means helping a student build a plan, talking through next steps with a family or simply making one more phone call.

Over the past year, Curtis has also found new ways to create more time for those relationships. He developed systems that help him identify which students may need attention, streamlined his advising process and helped build Sparky, a generative AI tool that allows Learning Success Coaches to search the ASU Prep handbook more efficiently. He has shared those tools with the broader LSC team so other coaches can spend less time navigating processes and more time supporting students.

For Curtis, the impact of that work often appears in small moments. A student who was falling behind starts moving forward. A family that felt overwhelmed leaves a conversation knowing what comes next. A student who stopped responding finally picks up the phone.

Those moments extend beyond his own students, too. As a Lead Learning Success Coach, Curtis supports newer LSCs as they navigate challenging situations and find their footing. Helping a colleague solve a difficult problem can ultimately reach students he may never meet himself.

The goal, however, is not for students to rely on him forever.

“My goal has always been to make my job unnecessary for the students I serve,” Curtis says. “Not because the role does not matter, but because a student who does not need me anymore is a student who is ready.”

Looking ahead, Curtis hopes to see more students take college courses before graduation and leave high school with both credits and the confidence to navigate what comes next. For him, that kind of independence is the clearest sign that the work is making a difference.

As a Digital High School Social Worker, Desiree Montelongo supports students, families and educators through some of the challenges that can make school feel difficult to navigate. She provides counseling for students in Exceptional Programs through IEPs and 504 plans, responds to crises, connects families with community resources and works alongside educators to help students access the support they need.

Her work is about more than responding when something goes wrong; it’s about helping students develop the skills, confidence and hope they need to keep moving forward.

Desiree joined ASU Prep five years ago after nearly a decade working in a traditional school district. There, she helped build a school social work program and saw firsthand how much impact social workers can have when they are given the opportunity to advocate for students and families.

That same commitment to advocacy has shaped her work at ASU Prep. One example is her work supporting students experiencing homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Act. After researching the needs of students and completing a capstone project, Desiree advocated for a dedicated liaison who could help ensure students received the resources and support available to them.

She collaborated with others to strengthen policies, processes and forms, helping create a more consistent approach to identifying and supporting students who may be experiencing housing instability.

For Desiree, helping students means helping them build skills they can carry with them beyond the school year. She often compares that process to learning how to ride a bike. The goal is not to keep the student moving forever, but to help them develop the balance and confidence to eventually ride on their own.

That philosophy also shapes the small moments she celebrates. It might be a teacher reaching out because they are concerned about a student, a student turning on their camera or microphone for the first time, or a young person finding a sense of belonging through a Live Lesson or club. Those moments can be easy to overlook, but Desiree sees them as signs of progress.

Being named a Staff Member of the Year finalist also gives Desiree an opportunity to shine a light on the work of school social workers and encourage others to advocate for students and families. For her, recognition is meaningful because it highlights the many ways support can make a difference in a student’s experience.

As a Compliance Specialist, Carol Trombino works behind the scenes to help ASU Prep meet state and district requirements while providing the resources and support teams need to do their work. Her role may not always be visible to students and families, but the impact of that work reaches throughout the school community.

Carol has spent five years at ASU Prep after working in different educational settings. She was drawn to ASU Prep’s digital and immersive learning environment and the opportunity to collaborate with people across the organization.

That collaborative spirit continues to be one of the things she values most about ASU Prep. Carol describes the people around her as hard-working, encouraging and positive, creating a culture where team members support one another and work together toward a shared purpose.

For Carol, being part of student success does not depend on having a student-facing role. Every position contributes to the systems, support and experiences that help students move forward.

That is why being named a Staff Member of the Year finalist is especially meaningful to her. The recognition highlights the impact that can come from the work happening behind the scenes and the many people who contribute to a student’s educational journey.

“No matter what your role is, even if you work behind the scenes, you are making an impact on students and their future,” Carol says.

Her perspective is a reminder that student success is a collective effort. From direct student support to the systems that make that support possible, every role has a part to play.