Saginaw Intermediate School District (ISD) is proud to recognize Benefits Coordinator Kayla Coughlin as the district’s 2025–2026 Orange Spot Champion of the Year, Saginaw ISD’s Employee of the Year recognition. The annual honor is awarded to the employee who receives the most Orange Spot nominations from colleagues throughout the school year, celebrating someone whose leadership, positivity, collaboration, and service have made an extraordinary impact across the organization.
Coughlin was surprised by the recognition in front of her colleagues during Saginaw ISD’s Opening Day celebration on August 17. She became the second recipient of the annual honor, following inaugural Orange Spot Champion of the Year Makeba Lawson.
For Coughlin, those nominations tell the story of a colleague who leads through service. As Benefits Coordinator, Coughlin helps employees navigate some of the most important and sometimes most stressful moments of their employment. Her work also extends beyond Saginaw ISD, as she provides benefits support to partner school districts, including Saginaw Township Community Schools, the second-largest school district in Saginaw County. Her colleagues consistently describe her as caring, hardworking, collaborative, and someone who takes the time to listen, answer questions, solve problems, and make people feel heard.
“Kayla is doing an amazing job in benefits,” Director of Finance Tammy Cavendish shared in nominating Coughlin for an Orange Spot recognition. “Her willingness to collaborate, especially diving into my massive spreadsheets, is bar none.” Cavendish also praised Coughlin’s positive attitude, teamwork, and willingness to tackle complex projects.
That willingness to step in wherever she is needed has extended well beyond the day-to-day responsibilities of benefits administration. During the past year, Coughlin played an instrumental role in several organization-wide initiatives, including the rollout of new insurance offerings and the development of Saginaw ISD’s new Benefits Hub, a centralized resource designed to make important benefits information easier for employees to find and understand. She has also supported major staff communications, contributed to the district’s new Connection Magazine, and helped strengthen the employee onboarding experience.
Her work reflects a form of leadership that often happens behind the scenes: identifying what employees need, making complicated information easier to understand, building relationships across departments, and following through until the work is done. Coughlin’s impact has been recognized throughout the year. She was named Saginaw ISD’s July 2025 Orange Spot winner, and nominations from her colleagues continued throughout the 2025–2026 school year. By the end of the year, she had received more Orange Spot nominations than any other employee in the organization.
“I was genuinely surprised and incredibly honored to receive this recognition,” Coughlin said. “What makes it so meaningful is knowing that it came from nominations from the people I work with every day. I truly enjoy helping our employees, whether that means answering a benefits question, working through a problem, or finding a way to make something a little easier for someone. I am fortunate to work with such an amazing team at Saginaw ISD, and being recognized by my colleagues in this way means more to me than I can put into words.”
Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Collier said Coughlin represents the kind of leadership Saginaw ISD seeks to cultivate at every level of the organization. “Leadership is not defined by a title. It is demonstrated by how you serve others, how you respond when someone needs help, and whether the people around you are better because you are there,” Collier said. “Kayla demonstrates that kind of leadership every day. She has earned the trust of her colleagues because she listens, collaborates, solves problems, and genuinely cares about the people we serve alongside. We are incredibly proud to celebrate her as this year’s Orange Spot Champion.”
The Orange Spot Recognition Program was created to recognize Saginaw ISD employees who bring positivity to their work, strengthen relationships, and contribute to an organizational culture where employees and students can thrive. The program earned a 2024 National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) Golden Achievement Award for excellence in strategic communication, culture-building, and engagement, and is rooted in principles from The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.
The annual Orange Spot Champion of the Year recognition builds upon that foundation by celebrating an employee whose impact has been repeatedly recognized by the people who work alongside them. Coughlin’s selection also reflects Saginaw ISD’s continued commitment to Workforce Excellence and Cultural Improvement, two priorities within the district’s 2025–2028 Strategic Compass. By recognizing employees who strengthen both the work and the workplace, Saginaw ISD continues building a culture where leadership is demonstrated through service, collaboration, and meaningful connections.
ABOUT SAGINAW INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT
Saginaw Intermediate School District (ISD) is an educational service agency that provides effective and innovative leadership, services, resources, and programs throughout Saginaw County. Saginaw ISD provides career and technical education, early childhood, finance, human resources, instruction, pupil accounting, special education, technology, and transportation services. In addition, Saginaw ISD operates multiple educational programs to meet the unique needs of students ages birth to 26 across Saginaw County, including Hartley Outdoor Education Center, Head Start/Early Head Start and preschool programming, Great Lakes Bay Early College, Saginaw County Juvenile Detention Center School, and Special Education Center Programs.
Saginaw ISD serves 12 local school districts, five public school academies, and 22 non-public schools, supporting approximately 26,000 students throughout Saginaw County.
MEDIA CONTACT
Coty Kuschinsky | Chief of Staff and Communications Director