The Pariseau family is new to the Orchard Hill Elementary community but they’ve already made a major impact. They – father Kenny, mother Rebecca, kindergartner Acacia and 4-year-old Shanoah – were nominated for this edition’s Family Focus by a staff member who noticed an act of kindness. Specifically, the Pariseaus paid for an ADA-accessible ramp for an OHES family in need, installed Christmas lights on their house and gave them a Christmas tree and gift cards.

Turns out, that was only the latest in a long line of donations for which the Pariseaus are responsible.

After the September 8, 2020 Almeda fire, Kenny and Rebecca decided to start a company called Rogue Relief Renovations whose purpose, said Kenny, is to “help the people who were left behind from the fire.”

How does it do that? RRR’s specialty in the winter is Christmas lights and Christmas decoration installations, and Kenny says business is booming. Instead of keeping the profits, however, the Pariseaus feed that money back into the community – sometimes in the form of special projects, other times in the form of lightscaping, and occasionally both. Often the hardest part, Kenny says, is finding people in need.

One day, Acacia came home from school with a note in her backpack. Apparently, there was a local family that needed a wheelchair ramp.

A bell went off in Kenny’s head as he read the note. “I was like, well, this is exactly the kind of opportunity I’m looking for – somebody to help.”

Everything fell neatly into place over the next few weeks, during which Kenny traded two lightscaping jobs for gift cards, landed enough donated Christmas lights to decorate the family’s entire house, and convinced Lowe’s to sell him a tree for half price. When an OHES staffer explained that buying the wheelchair ramp would take longer than expected due to an unfortunate web of red tape, he quickly came up with a solution. “I said, ‘Just give me the item number and I’ll buy it. So she gave me the item number and I bought it right then and there.”

Not long after that Kenny arrived at the home to install the Christmas lights that the family did not ask for or expect. While there, he noticed that their gutter was falling down. No problem. Kenny has formerly worked as a gutter repairman – a few days later that gutter, he said, was stronger than the house.

In all, Kenny estimates, the donations to the family equaled about $2,000, including $500 in gift cards. Initially, though, the family was unsure how to react. The first time he met the mother and daughter of the family, he noticed that the 9-year-old daughter was a little apprehensive and shy. Kenny had an idea.

“I was like, ‘I got a surprise,’ he said. He then went to his truck to retrieve his two daughters, who were excited to be introduced to a new friend.

“They just played their little hearts out.”

In 2001, Deni Goodwin started volunteering once a week at her son's kindergarten class at Talent Elementary. Within four years that once-a-week commitment had turned into a four-days-a-week gig and in 2007 she was approved by the Phoenix-Talent School District to be a part-time employee to monitor the cafeteria.

Deni worked as a substitute in every classified position (library, office, instructional aide, special education aide) for one year before being hired as an instructional aide/playground aide at Orchard Hill, where she worked for 11 years. She transferred to Phoenix-Talent Rising Academy in 2020 and continued to work as an instructional aide until the start of this school year when she became PTRA's office manager.

In her current role, Deni has earned much respect and admiration from her peers.

As one of her co-workers put it, "Deni Goodwin ...is the reason that the school survives! She has several roles and does such an amazing job! Not only does she run our office, she managed parents, students k-12 and helps our two teachers out. She is our rock!"

PTRA principal Aaron Santi, who is also the PTS administrator of magnet programs, assessment, and evaluation, added that Deni's versatility is something to behold.

"Deni is the beating heart of PTRA," he said. "She handles all of the office and instructional support functions for our school and does an amazing job balancing all of her responsibilities. In addition, she provides personalized assistance to our families whether they need help accessing an online learning platform or social services within the community. Our school would not be the same without her!"

Here's is Deni Goodwin's Q&A:

What are some of the challenges in education related to remote learning that people may not know about?

We were/are creating PTRA from scratch while teaching students, the proverbial 'building the airplane while flying it.'

What would students be surprised to find out about you?

I will read anything when I don't have a book -- back of the cereal box, my car's owner's manual, even a parts catalog once while waiting at the mechanic. My phone has 100s of books on it now so I'm never without a book.

What inspires you?

Brené Brown and her work on vulnerability and authenticity.

What current trends are baffling to you? Why?

I'm not really baffled by trends but I am baffled by a couple we saw driving a convertible with the top down in the snow.

What is your first memory from school since you joined PTS?

When I was volunteering at TES, another volunteer and I were creating the yearbook and we wanted a photo with all 400 students. The principal got a hoist that lifted me as high as the roof of the covered area, the whole school gathered on the field, and I got the photo.