The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is one of 58 county offices located throughout the state. Approximately 650 regular and more than 950 temporary and substitute SCOE staff work year-round providing services which complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in Sacramento County. Over 230,000 K-12 students are served by public schools in Sacramento County.
Classified Employee of the Month
Mahalia Manker, Program Analyst, was nominated by Prevention & Student Services (PASS) Director Cheryl Raney for her contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Ms. Manker provides clerical and technical support for PASS, most notably for the Sacramento Countywide Bullying Prevention Project and the LINKS Mentoring Program. Among her responsibilities have been preparing documents for trainings, creating and maintaining databases to track program participation by students and mentees, and analyzing data for reporting progress to funding agencies. Her supervisor says, "Ms. Manker's attention to detail, her flexibility, her time management skills, and her knack for anticipating potential challenges enable her to perform easily under any circumstance. Her friendly personality and strong communication skills are wonderful assets, allowing her to build trusting relationships with staff and positive interactions with our clients, whether educators, parents or students." In addition to her regular job duties, Ms. Manker has served as a LINKS Mentor Program volunteer since the start of the program in 2010; prior to that she mentored students in another PASS mentor program. She currently mentors a student at Calvine High School. LINKS Mentoring Program Manager Lindsay Cathcart says, "Mahalia has been a vital part of the mentoring program! She is able to connect easily with young people, using humor and her life experience. She quickly shows her fellow mentors and the young people in the program that she's invested and committed. It's been an honor to watch her serve mentees in the LINKS Mentoring program." Concludes her supervisor, "Mahalia is a dedicated, detail-oriented, nose-to-the-grindstone kind of employee. She takes on all challenges and tasks with a smile and always has a positive attitude. She works well independently and in a team environment. Since Mahalia signs in participants for many meetings and trainings, she is often the first person our clients encounter at SCOE. She is always cheerful and makes the people we serve, both adults and students, feel welcome." Ms. Manker has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 1979.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Jennifer Clement, Community Schools Teacher, was nominated by Principal Lisa Alcalá for her contributions to the Juvenile Court and Community Schools program of the Sacramento County Office of Education. Ms. Clement currently instructs students at SCOE's Elinor Lincoln Hickey Jr./Sr. High School campus. She works in a classroom setting with students in grades 7-12 and is primarily responsible for teaching English and Social Studies. Although new to SCOE and Elinor Hickey School, Ms. Clement has, in the words of her supervisor, "become a great asset to our program." In addition to her teaching (described by her supervisor as "fantastic"), Ms. Clement has used her networking skills to establish school-community partnerships with numerous local agencies and organizations. These relationships greatly serve to enhance and round out the educational experience she is able to provide her students, as well as other students at the campus. Ms. Clement recently partnered with the McGeorge School of Law to help students gain an understanding of "street law." Students will put into practice what they have learned when they participate in a mock trial in April. Concludes Ms. Clement's supervisor, "We are very fortunate to have Ms. Clement as a teacher at our school site. Her skills as a teacher and her ability to engage students in the learning process combine to make her an exemplary member of the Elinor Lincoln Hickey School site team." Ms. Clement has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 2013.