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
Betty Poole, Infant Educator with the Infant Development Program in Special Education, was nominated by Director Andrea Lemos for her many contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Ms. Poole has served as a Infant Educator for 26 years. She is part of a transdisciplinary team providing services to children with disabilities ages birth to three and their families. She schedules, plans and conducts home visits, working with families and children to demonstrate appropriate strategies for early learning, and she assists in assessing child growth and progress. She has an Early Childhood Certificate and Occupational Therapy Assistant Certification, and is also a certified instructor in Infant Massage. Says her supervisor, "Ms. Poole has demonstrated her tireless support for families, and shows her positive, can-do attitude each and every time she meets with them. She utilizes her skills and knowledge to make a difference for each child and family. She is an exemplary model of caring, compassion, and support for each child and family she works with in the Infant Development program." Betty Poole has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since her start as a Para-Educator in 1984.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Michael Bernardis, Program Specialist with the Infant Development Program (IDP) in Special Education, was nominated by Director Andrea Lemos for his many contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. He began his work at SCOE as a teacher for students with severe disabilities, then as teacher in the IDP. For the past decade he has served as a Program Specialist. Mr. Bernardis provides program and resource support to the IDP and to the early childhood community. He facilitates family participation and involvement in the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and supports families transitioning in and out of infant services, and into other community resources, district programs or other preschool programs. Mr. Bernadis partners with SCOE teachers, nurses, physical therapists, deaf and hard of hearing specialists, vision therapists and speech therapists to ensure the best support possible for infants and their families. He also works closely with school districts and agencies so that appropriate services to students are provided. SCOE IDP colleagues benefit from his facilitation and development of staff training. His expertise is also relied upon by numerous local programs and services, including Job Alike professional network teams, the SELPA (Special Education Local Area) Deaf Task Force, the Quality Child Care Collaborative, the Medi-Cal Collaborative Committee, and several leadership teams. Mr. Bernardis has been a Mentor Teacher and a Teacher-in-Charge, and represented SCOE as the 2002 Teacher of the Year. His supervisor reports, "Mr. Bernardis is a team player, all in the name of support to students and their families. He serves as a resource to staff, families, and agencies. Mr. Bernardis is a caring and compassionate person and we are very fortunate to have him on our staff." Mr. Bernardis has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 1986.