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. More than 241,000 K-12 students are served by public schools in Sacramento County.
Classified Employee of the Month
Lanitra Odell, Office Assistant, was nominated by Effie Crush, Chief Administrator, Human Resources, for her contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Ms. Odell serves both departments as the receptionist at the main desk of SCOE's Clellan "Cy" Young Business Services/Personnel Building. Ms. Odell performs a variety of duties including routine clerical and office support functions. She is responsible for greeting all customers, fielding a continuous flow of phone calls, conveying important information to callers, as well as answering inquiries from both staff, outside stakeholders, and prospective job applicants. "She is the first person people see as they enter the Personnel Building," says her supervisor, "and she provides excellent customer service. She is courteous, kind, informative, and capable. She has demonstrated exemplary skills in all areas needed when working with others including customer service, organization, teamwork, and efficiency." Concludes her supervisor, "Lanitra is the perfect example of an employee who makes SCOE shine. She greets everyone with a smile and callers find her to be a source of calmness and kindness. Lanitra is a quick learner who is eager to learn new tasks and always offers her assistance whenever needed to assist SCOE. If you ask a SCOE Personnel or Financial Services employee about Lanitra, he or she will quickly tell you how valuable she is to this organization." Ms. Odell has been employed by the Sacramento County Office of Education since 2014.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Janet Gaiduk, CARE/Community School Teacher, was nominated by Court and Community Schools Director Chris Aland for her contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Ms. Gaiduk is a CARE (Community Action for Responsive Education) teacher at Foothill High School serving 22 at-risk 9th grade students who—until reaching her classroom—have not experienced school success. She is responsible for delivering instruction in math, English, science, and health in a way that engages students. "Ms. Gaiduk has a passion and gift for working with at-risk youth," says her supervisor. This year, she took on the challenge of recruiting students at the campus who would benefit from CARE instruction. She created a website promoting her unique class, she networked with regular campus staff and talked with families about why their children should come to her class—a class where students can feel connected to school while gaining the skills to be successful next year in 10th grade. Her supervisor says, "Ms. Gaiduk works tirelessly to create lesson plans that engage the disengaged. She creates opportunities to take students on field trips that they would not normally take. She invests her time into their lives, giving them a sense of care and family within her room. Staff at her site applaud her for taking on 'those kids' as many of them have become discouraged in their attempts to help connect positively with these students." A majority of Ms. Gaiduk's students come to her already in risk of dropping out of school. Her efforts allow students the time to grow and mature, while still maintaining the rigor of instruction to keep them on track for success at school. Concludes her supervisor, "Ms. Gaiduk's work to connect with her students is—in the big picture—changing their lives for the positive." Ms. Gaiduk has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 2014.