Irma Hernandez-Larin, Director of the Capital Region School Support and Improvement Center, has been named a recipient of the prestigious National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (NAFEPA) State Leadership Award. The Capital Region School Support and Improvement Center is operated by the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE). The award is presented to a current NAPEFA member who has assumed a "significant role in the support and promotion of the activities and goals" of state and federal categorical programs.
Hernandez-Larin works with low performing schools in the 10-county Capital Service Region to help them meet their target growth as defined in the California Public Schools Accountability Act (SB IX 1999). Hernandez-Larin assists over 200 low performing schools in the Capital Service Region. According to Marilyn Astore, SCOE Assistant Superintendent, Instructional Support Services, the work of Hernandez-Larin "focuses on the systemic components of those schools in the region which are high performers, despite having high levels of student poverty." Astore added, "She continually asks local and regional educational leaders, 'What must be in place so that all students will reach or surpass state standards?'"