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Board Recognizes January 2023 Employees of the Month

Rebecca West, Rachel Schwefel and Sterling Alley

January 2023 Classified Employees of the Month Rebecca West and Rachel Schwefel, and January 2023 Certificated Employee of the Month Sterling Alley.

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 that complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in Sacramento County. The Sacramento County Board of Education celebrates the accomplishments and exemplary service of SCOE employees through the Employees of the Month Program.

Classified Employee of the Month

Rebecca West, School Secretary, and Rachel Schwefel, Staff Secretary, were nominated by Special Education Executive Director Michael Kast. Rachel and Rebecca are part of a team that supports the special education students enrolled in SCOE’s Court and Community Schools. Their relationships with our supporting districts, combined with attention to detail and responsiveness, ensure that our students don’t experience disruption or delay in their services. Rachel and Rebecca work side by side—quite literally—and if either one of them gets a challenging task to complete, they will always support and help each other. Due to recent staffing shortages, Rachel was asked to support another department for several months. She accepted the added responsibility without hesitation and learned new skills in doing so. Rebecca immediately offered to support Rachel to keep their workloads balanced. Rebecca West has been a SCOE employee since October 2000 and Rachel Schwefel has been a SCOE employee since October 2019. 

Certificated Employee of the Month

Sterling Alley, Special Education Teacher, was nominated by Principal Lauren Roth for his contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education Special Education Department. Sterling Alley is not only an outstanding educator, but he is also an advocate for all students who enter the front gate at Leo A. Palmiter Jr./Sr. High School. He believes in all students, and his confidence in them turns into self-confidence for each of his students. He is also Palmiter’s teacher in charge and is always willing to step up and support the entire school whenever needed. Sterling believes in second and third chances for every student and is willing to do whatever it takes to help them succeed and reach their goals. Sterling Alley has been a SCOE Employee since August 2004.