SCOE 2022 Teacher of the Year Nominees Reception

00:07 - As we celebrate great teaching here at SCOE.

00:10 - We are especially proud of this program and the outstanding teachers we’ve had represent the County office.

00:15 - I want to congratulate all of this SCOE teachers nominated for 2022, because of your hard work and your dedication and your connection with students, someone thought so highly of you that they nominated you for SCOE Teacher of the Year so congratulations for that.

00:30 - Now it’s my pleasure to introduce the superintendent Dave Gordon, who would like to say a few words superintendent.

00:36 - - [Dave Gordon] Yeah. - Thank you. Thank you, Tim and good afternoon, everyone.

00:42 - and, and welcome and congratulations to all of you teacher of the year nominees.

00:49 - I still wish that we were meeting in person also because I’m hungry and they usually have good good refreshments, but anyhow, it’s such an honor to be sitting with you who do so much and I think this teacher of the year program for me is is so important because it sends the message that the hard work you do every day in the classroom at your sites or remotely is not only fundamental but that it’s very highly regarded certainly by us but also by the, by the community.

01:27 - And I think a lot of the parent pressure you’re seeing is just about parents saying our kids miss their connections and their guidance from the people that they love and trust.

01:45 - And it’s been a hole in their in their souls for the last, for the last year.

01:51 - So sometimes the parents will get over the top and- but I think everyone is just delighted now that we’re seeing schools reopening, students are coming back to the classroom, teachers are coming back to the classrooms, and you and they are getting the opportunity to do what you do best.

02:14 - And, and I have so much respect for all of our teachers in SCOE.

02:20 - Many of you have been working actually in classrooms in the, the YDF, the juvenile hall, the RL central programs or with some of our special education cohorts.

02:35 - And we’re so pleased and proud of the work that’s been done whether remotely or not, you had to pivot.

02:43 - I don’t think anyone realizes how taxing it’s been on all of you and really everyone in education, but particularly on all of you both personally and professionally and we just have so much respect and admiration and gratitude for you or how well you’ve handled this.

03:04 - And there are examples all over SCOE of how everyone has adapted, in just with our Sly Park group where there was obviously no Sly Park campers coming up but the Sly Park folks rallied and redeployed some of themselves down here working in our juvenile court schools and our community schools and also coming up with an amazingly creative distance learning program which brought Sly Park into the classrooms of young people in Sacramento County, by remotely with some amazing tours and lessons connected directly to the new science standards.

03:52 - And, and that’s just, that’s just one small example of how all of you have responded.

04:00 - So before I go further I just want to make sure to introduce and recognize two members of our board of education, president Joanne Ahola and a trustee Deena Lefkovitz.

04:19 - Deena is a mentor is, is, has generally been a mentor for students in our, in our community schools and others make tremendous contributions.

04:29 - So we’re, and I see trustee, trustee Dr. Al Brown is with us wave to everybody that there’s trustee Brown.

04:38 - And as, as you see, they engage with us in a lot of the events that we’ve put on and, they really know what the work of the County office is and respected and engage with us in it wherever they have an opportunity, so thank you.

04:55 - Thank you, trustees. And so, teaching teaching is in, is in my heart.

05:03 - I started as a, a sixth grade special ed teacher in the Bronx of New York, more years ago than I want to admit, but it’s been awhile and it’s been such a blessing to me and my family to be engaged with this profession, mainly because I have the opportunity to associate with colleagues with colleagues like you, who every day teach me something new that I didn’t know, and, and who always go the extra mile and who lead with their hearts not just their minds and lead with caring and kindness and support for our young people and the academics comes to.

05:53 - But the main thing is, embracing our young people with that love and support in particularly in the work that SCOE does.

06:03 - That’s really the, it’s really the foundation.

06:07 - So it takes a very special person to work with much of our student population.

06:12 - And that’s why you’re here. And that’s why you’re nominated as, as teachers of the year.

06:19 - And it’s not, it’s no exaggeration to say that a great teacher can change the direction of a student’s life.

06:29 - We, had a chance to, we’ve been trying to emphasize more and more amplifying student voice and student engagement with us and the decisions we make and what we think through before we make our decisions.

06:44 - And we heard a tape yesterday in cabinet which was a focus group with a group of students who are in our youth detention facility, El Centro, junior senior high school, meaning they’re, they’re in jail.

07:04 - And if you had heard the spirit that they evoke about hope and aspiration to go forward a number of them are actually enrolled in community college now, they’ve gotten their high school diplomas already but their sentences are not, not up but they have hope and they have direction.

07:29 - And that’s simply because when they got to the juvenile hall the teachers and the other staff there reached out to them and said, we value you.

07:43 - We hear you we’re with you, we’re here to support you.

07:47 - And, and you can do this. And it was, it was, it was just amazing.

07:51 - You would not have thought you were talking to a group of young people who were, who were in jail.

07:58 - They were optimistic. And I, I wish everybody could we have restrictions on who can see these tapes because the kids are incarcerated.

08:08 - But, but anyway, but that’s, but that’s what you do.

08:13 - But just know that the work that you do makes a tremendous difference.

08:16 - So whichever one of you wins this teacher of the year award just know that you’re representing several hundreds of people in SCOE who are just, just doing great work.

08:30 - And we’re so pleased to have the opportunity to recognize and honor all of you tonight.

08:38 - We wish we could do it in person with nice hors d’oeuvres and, and photographs and all but we’ll take some photographs of our of our screen here later.

08:50 - I also want to say, thank you to Jerry and and particularly to Tim and Charlene and our communications team for putting these, these events together.

09:02 - These events I think have come off very, very, very, very nicely.

09:08 - And we were very grateful to them for putting the work into, to do that.

09:12 - So again, congratulations to, to all of you nominees the, the work with the work you do and the respect we have for you is unbounded.

09:24 - So thank you. - [Tim Herrera] All right thank you very much, superintendent Gordon we really appreciate the kind words and teachers.

09:34 - We mean it, when we say how much we value you and the great work that you do and we appreciate your interest in pursuing this further there is a little bit of a process but the communications office is here to help you with that.

09:47 - And here with an explanation of the process and how it works is a communications manager, Charlene Vanallen.

09:53 - Charlene. - [Charlene Vanallen] Thank you, Tim.

09:57 - I’m really thrilled to have so many fabulous nominees to present to our selection panel this year.

10:04 - The panelists will take into consideration both written applications and virtual interviews when recommending a teacher of the year to represent SCOE in the Sacramento County teacher of the year selection process.

10:20 - So, as I had outlined in emails to you earlier this month, your first step is an application.

10:29 - And that application includes a one page resume and two different essay prompts that you’ll supply one page response each.

10:39 - Those applications are due by 5:00 PM on Monday, April 5th.

10:44 - The next step in the process is an an interview.

10:48 - And those interviews will take place on the afternoon of Thursday, April 15th and Friday, April 16th.

10:56 - We are hosting those in the afternoon, so that both, many of our panel members are former teachers of the year, and also since you are all teachers we’re trying to lessen our impact in the classroom, superintendent, Gordon.

11:09 - So we’re sticking to the afternoon for those interviews.

11:13 - So far eight of our nominees have confirmed they will participate in this process.

11:18 - and I’m hopeful if you, the last two will commit, so we will have all 10 nominees.

11:24 - So again, thanks so much for agreeing to participate nominees and I’m available via phone or email.

11:32 - If you have questions as you’re getting your applications together and thank you so much and thanks for joining us this evening.

11:38 - - [Tim Herrera] All right, thank you, Charlene.

11:41 - And again, we are sincere, we will help you every step of the way.

11:45 - So please don’t let that kind of get in your way of wanting to continue.

11:50 - At this time, though I would like to introduce each of our nominees, so nominees when I announce your name, we’d like to see you on the screen for a little bit.

11:57 - So, as we, as Charlene said we’ve asked each of you in one sentence to answer this, “What you love about being a teacher. ” So our first teacher nominee is a Tamra Allen, infant development program at Hiram Johnson, Tamra hi, tell us why you love being a teacher.

12:17 - - [Tamara Allen] Hi Tim. Hi everybody.

12:20 - Thank you so much for having us here. This is really exciting.

12:24 - What I love about being a teacher is the relationship that I get to form with families and the children in our program and how that relationship becomes the foundation of their learning experience.

12:37 - - [Tim Herrera] All right Tamara, thank you very much and congratulations to you.

12:41 - We should tell you the Tamara’s nominator said, “That she considers children and their family’s strengths, needs and concerns as she develops collaborative partnerships. ” Our next nominee is Phillip Cloeter, alternative education, at Eleanor Lincoln Hickey junior senior high school.

12:57 - Phil tell us why you love being a teacher. [Philip Cloeter] Hi, thank you very much and good evening.

13:03 - One of the many things I love about teaching is the ability to share with a mutual respect and love, actually with our students and colleagues in a safe and caring environment that we create together.

13:22 - Thank you. - [Tim Herrera] All right, Phil, thank you, and congratulations to you.

13:26 - You know Phil’s nominator said, “He is a cluster of positivity and nothing will stop him from meeting the needs of his students. ” Congratulations, Phil.

13:36 - Our next teacher nominee is Kimberly Craven, special education and our mild moderate program at Spinelli Elementary.

13:43 - Kim, tell us why you love being a teacher. - [Kimberly Craven] Hi everyone, thank you.

13:47 - I’m so honored for this nomination. I truly love my students.

13:52 - I have a passion for teaching. There’s nothing else that I would rather do.

13:57 - So thank you. - [Tim Herrera] All right.

14:00 - Thank you very much, Kim. Now her nominator says, “Parents express how happy their children are in Mrs. Craven’s class.

14:08 - She recognizes individual students’ strengths and all the progress that they’ve made. “ Congratulations.

14:15 - All right. So our next nominee is Kerry Dickerson, special education in our moderate, severe program at Rio Linda High, Carey tell us why you love being a teacher.

14:27 - - [Carey] I will. It’s probably the only job in the world that in real life where you can say, I work next to Aquaman, I work next to Superman, I work next to Catwoman and Superwoman.

14:38 - When you go into the office, because everybody at SCOE that I’ve ever met are real life superheroes.

14:46 - So that’s why I love my job. - [Tim Herrera] All right, Carey, thanks very much.

14:50 - And congratulations to you. And his nominator said, “That Carey is remarkably dedicated to the well-being and education of his students, which is demonstrated through the students’ achievement. ” Our next nominee is Jayme Heal who is our alternative education teacher and our care program at Folsom Middle School.

15:10 - Hi, Jayme, tell us why you love being a teacher.

15:13 - - [Jayme Heal] Hi everyone. I absolutely love being a teacher because of the positive impact that I can have on a daily basis with my students and especially those who have not had wonderful experiences in school prior to being with me.

15:30 - Thank you. - [Tim Herrera] All right, Jayme, thanks very much.

15:34 - Jayme’s nominator said, “She is phenomenal when it comes to building relationships with students, and makes sure she knows every students’ story and passion in life to help motivate them in the classroom.

15:46 - Congratulations, Jayme. Our next nominee is Joseph Linehan, special education preschool at Hillsdale Head Start program.

15:55 - Joe, tell us why you love being a teacher. - [Joseph Linehan] Good afternoon.

15:59 - Why do I love being a teacher aside from the great paycheck? Probably, the giving all the kids a voice no matter their ability and being a preschool teacher, we see, we see change daily with kids and it’s right in front of us.

16:20 - And it’s something that people wait a long time to see and we see it every day, so it’s great.

16:25 - So thank you again for the nomination. This is my wife, she was here with me today.

16:30 - So thanks again. - [Tim Herrera] Well, thanks for both of you being here, we appreciate it very much.

16:35 - Now Joe’s nominator said, “He has a deep desire to reach students and their needs.

16:40 - He builds a strong knowledge of development to his students, along with the importance of communication.

16:45 - Congratulations, Joseph. Now our next nominee, couldn’t be here but we want to celebrate him.

16:50 - That’s Pedro Marquez, a teacher in alternative education that our care program at Center High School.

16:56 - Pedro’s nominator said, Mr. Marquez understands every student’s story and adjusts his strategies accordingly, while still having high expectations for all.

17:07 - So congratulations, Pedro. Our next nominee is Nicholas Papagiannopoulos special education on our mild to moderate program at Leeway Palmeter junior, senior high school.

17:17 - Nick, tell us what you love about being a teacher.

17:19 - - [Nicholas Papagiannopoulos] Hello everyone.

17:21 - Thank you. It’s it’s an honor to be here with all of you.

17:24 - I love being a teacher because I love the connection that I have with kids, especially with the 11th and 12th grade kids.

17:30 - I’m part of that, I’m there with them when they’re sort of building their goals in life and then I get to help them create a pathway to achieving those goals.

17:38 - And it’s something that I really take a lot of pride in and I really enjoy it, so that’s it.

17:44 - - [Tim Herrera] Okay. All right. Thanks very much, Nick.

17:46 - We appreciate that. Nick’s nominator said, “He seeks out community resources and takes initiatives to coordinate transition opportunities for students. ” Congratulations Nick.

17:58 - Our next nominee is Jessi Romankiw, special education moderate to severe program at Galt high school.

18:04 - Hi Jessi, tell us what you love about being a teacher.

18:07 - - [Jessi Romankiw] Thank you, this is such an honor.

18:10 - What I love best about teaching is helping students learn to believe in themselves and their own abilities.

18:16 - And then thus seeing that pride and achievement.

18:19 - That’s, that’s the best. Thank you.

18:22 - - [Tim Herrera] All right. Thanks very much, Jessi.

18:24 - Now her nominator said, “That she truly exemplifies what SCOE represents and believes all students can learn and has created a learning environment of respect and positivity. ” Now our next nominee is our final nominee and that’s Ginger Schlavin, an outdoor science teacher at Sly Park environmental education center.

18:45 - Hi Ginger, tell us why you love being a teacher.

18:48 - - [Ginger Schlavin] Hello everyone. Thank you for having me.

18:52 - I love just connecting with kids and inspiring them to love the environment and to love themselves and to challenge them to step out of their comfort zone and to work as a community with new people.

19:04 - So I’ve also been grateful for this year and this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and try new things and go from outdoor ed to, you know, remote teaching.

19:16 - So it’s been, it’s been, it’s been wonderful.

19:19 - I’ve learned a lot and I’ve really enjoyed it.

19:22 - - [Dave Gordon] Who is your associate with you, Ginger? - [Ginger Schlavin] Oh, this is Stella, my daughter.

19:28 - - [Tim Herrera] Nice to have you both with us.

19:31 - Alright Ginger, thanks very much. Now Ginger’s nominator said, “Not only has Ginger learned how to teach virtually, but she has developed a new virtual curriculum to ensure Sly Park could continue to serve the students of Sacramento. ” Let’s hear it for all of our nominees, congratulations to you all.

19:50 - We really appreciate it. So now in closing, I would like to say that, you know we very often have some worthy nominees who choose not to go forward in this process because they feel uncomfortable with the focus being on them, but please know this is not about you.

20:07 - This is really about honoring all of our teachers.

20:10 - We’re honoring one teacher, but we’re really, you are representing all the outstanding teachers at the Sacramento County Office of Education just like superintendent Gordon said.

20:20 - So we hope you will go forward with the process and take the next steps.

20:23 - As I said, we’re here to help contact Charlene in communications with any of your questions.

20:28 - So thank you for joining us now, but before we leave we want to take a nice little obligatory zoom screenshot.

20:35 - So on the count of three, everybody give a big smile and a thumbs up one, two, three.

20:44 - Alright thanks everybody. Thank you so much for being here.

20:46 - We really appreciate it. And again, you all are rock stars.

20:51 - This has been an especially challenging year plus, but you have come through like champs and we greatly appreciate what you do for us.

21:01 - So thanks for being here. - [Dave Gordon] Thanks everybody.

21:03 - - [Tim Herrera] We’ll help you go through the process.

21:04 - - [Dave Gordon] Thanks Tim. Thanks trustees.

21:07 - - [Trustee Lefkovitz] Thank you teachers. - [Dave Gordon] Be well and be well, everyone.

21:10 - - [Kimberly Craven] Thank you. .