The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is one of 58 county offices located throughout the state. Approximately 700 full-time and more than 2,500 part-time SCOE staff work year-round providing services which complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in the County of Sacramento. Over 230,000 K-12 students are served by public schools in Sacramento County.
Classified Employee of the Month
Brian Alves (Senior General Services Worker), Jason Bartley (Lead Maintenance Worker), Scott Burton (Senior General Services Worker), and Lindon Lewis (Senior General Services Worker) were nominated as a team by Information Services Coordinator Chris Gilbert for their collective contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. These four employees recently concluded an extremely challenging task: moving furniture, equipment, and boxes from 10 different SCOE sites, including the closure of SCOE's entire Carson Creek Jr./Sr. High School campus at Sacramento County Boys Ranch. Says Chris Gilbert, "This summer, the team played a vital role in the education process by supporting student programs with numerous site changes and teacher moves." Brian Alves, who has worked in the Procurement Services department since January 2006, is responsible for tracking for all incoming and outgoing vendor deliveries as well as the delivery of received items to all Mather SCOE sites. Jason Bartley has worked in the Support Operations department since April 2007 and is responsible for ensuring that buildings and equipment are maintained in a safe, clean, and orderly condition. Mr. Alves and Mr. Bartley both help SCOE's Courier Services department whenever extra assistance with a move is required. Scott Burton, employed since May 2005, and Lindon Lewis, a SCOE employee since May 1997, work in the Courier Services Department. Their primary responsibilities include the delivery of mail and other items to non-Mather SCOE sites and school districts. They also handle the relocation of furniture, equipment, and boxes from one site to another here at SCOE. Between June and August 2010, the team completed SCOE's Carson Creek School closure, relocation of El Centro Jr./Sr. High instructional units and offices, the move of one SCOE warehouse site to another, closure and relocation to another site of SCOE's River Oaks/Morgan Center campus, several relocations of special education sites, and the set-up of two new community school campuses complete with furnishing. This entailed packing and moving of equipment, supplies, furniture, computers, educational materials, and more. Some of these items went to new locations, while the remainder went to storage. Due to the hard work of this team of employees, by the end of August most of what had been stored was back at other SCOE sites, ready for use by students and teachers. Chris Gilbert reports, "By moving the furniture, equipment, and boxes in a timely and organized manner, SCOE programs were able to resume operations with minimal disruption for our students. Brian, Jason, Scott and Lindon individually and collectively have proved deserving of the SCOE Employee of the Month honor."
Certificated Employee of the Month
Bruce Hicks, a Regional Occupational Program teacher, was nominated by Principal Carol Johnston for his contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Mr. Hicks teaches the ROP Certified Nursing Assistant course in SCOE's classroom located at the Bruceville Terrace Skilled Nursing Facility in the South Sacramento/Valley Hi area. Each year he serves approximately 60 high school and adult students. After five weeks of classroom instruction, the students go out to the floor to work with the nursing staff. This hands-on training fulfills the students' community classroom/internship hours while providing care for the facility's residents. After completing the course, his students qualify to take the California State Board Nursing Assistant certification exam. His program turns out trained certified nursing assistants for the Sacramento community, where there is a large shortage. He has strengthened the partnership between SCOE ROP and the Bruceville Terrace Skilled Nursing Facility by being professional, sensitive to the needs of the facility and his students, and expertly teaching students the skills they need. His supervisor says, "Bruce models a balance of empathy, competence, and ethics for his students who must also master those traits to work successfully in the profession of nursing assistant. It's not a job just anyone can do." Mr. Hicks has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since January 2004.