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
Paul Valencia, Jr., Special Education Technician, was nominated by Principal Lauren Roth for his contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Mr. Valencia serves with the WorkAbility I program for students with special needs at Leo A. Palmiter Jr./Sr. High School and SCOE's community schools. He has recently been working with students who are in the Transition Partnership Program (TPP). The TPP program is a cooperative program between SCOE and the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) to prepare high school students for employment. Mr. Valencia facilitates the entire process, from the initial referral to working together with SCOE's instructional staff and DOR's staff to provide pre-employment training, resume development, job coaching, and competitive employment. His supervisor says, "He is known for his rapport with students and has a positive, solution-oriented approach." Noticing there was a need to help students transition from high school to either college and/or employment, he took steps to mitigate this. His conversations with the Counseling Department and Graduate Department in the College of Education at California State University, Sacramento, landed SCOE a collaboration with CSUS counseling interns who meet with SCOE students once a week. This collaborative project is called the Jump Off program. Concludes his supervisor, "Mr. Valencia is hard working, a team player, dedicated, and passionate about helping youth." Mr. Valencia has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 2006.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Pedro Marquez, CARES Teacher, was nominated by Principal Lisa Alcalá for his contributions to the Juvenile Court and Community Schools program of the Sacramento County Office of Education. Mr. Marquez teaches English 9, Algebra, Earth Science and Academic Readiness in SCOE's 9th grade CARE (Community Action for Responsive Education) class at Center High School. The CARE program is designed to provide extra academic support for students identified by their site principals. It offers students a smaller class size, one instructor for most core academic subjects and a high level of support and structure, coupled with extensive parent/teacher communication to ensure student success. Mike Jordan, principal of Center High School, says, "Pedro Marquez started on the campus at Center High School in August 2013 and made an immediate positive impact. He does an excellent job of building relationships with students and staff members which is one of the main reasons for his quick success on this campus." Mr. Marquez has taught in SCOE's Juvenile Court and Community School programs and is the first teacher in the CARE program implemented by SCOE at Center High School. Says his supervisor, "Mr. Marquez is a well-respected member of the SCOE teaching community. He has been instrumental in the program's successful implementation and has created classroom based on rigor, relevance and a high level of student engagement." Mr. Marquez has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 2007.