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.
Classified Employee of the Month
Stace Smithson, Sly Park Environmental Education Center custodian, has been nominated by Principal Steven "Hoppy" Hopkins for his contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Mr. Smithson's primary responsibilities include light maintenance and cleaning of the Sly Park facility, which covers thousands of square feet of buildings – offices, dormitories, cafeteria, classrooms, animal room and recreation areas. In addition, Mr. Smithson shares responsibility with the facilities team for maintenance of numerous areas, which include: the Sly Park health, fire safety and security systems; open space, gardens, lawns and walkways; recycling program, refuse and hazards waste disposal; implementation of energy conservation measures; and ordering campus supplies, re-stocking and replacing products and materials. He initiated and maintains the Sly Park recycling program and is the designated site energy conservation "czar." Mr. Smithson recently completed a comprehensive seven-day course on solar technology and has been responsible for introducing numerous campus-wide cost-saving, energy conservation/ education and waste disposal initiatives. He also collaborated with SMUD on a grant to place a four-kilowatt solar panel array on the Sly Park maintenance building. According to his supervisor, Mr. Smithson is a "dedicated and hard working employee" and can be considered "personally responsible for the A+ rating for cleanliness of the Sly Park facility." Mr. Smithson has been employed by the Sacramento County Office of Education since March, 1992.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Earl Hastings, Sly Park Environmental Education Center instructor, has been nominated by "Hoppy" Hopkins for his contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. In addition to instructing sixth-grade students, Mr. Hastings serves as Sly Park's Teacher in Charge. One of his special interests is meteorology, which students participating on his Weather Forecast Team put into "real life" practice each week. He is well-known for his work with the Sly Park Web site, which he manages and updates weekly to include student and cabin group photos on the Web for parents to view. One of the Web services he offers to parents is the opportunity to e-mail their children during the students' five-day stay at Sly Park. Mr. Hastings, who is the SCOETA site representative and member of the executive board, serves as a member of the Sly Park leadership team. He coordinates weekly teacher meetings, as well as weekly and monthly teacher scheduling assignments. Mr. Hastings has assisted in coordinating Sly Park visitor days and serves as site director for the Sugarloaf Summer Art and Music Program held on the Sly Park campus. His contributions to the field of environmental education are many; he has initiated collaborative activities with the U.S. Forest Service and the California Fish and Wildlife Department, in addition to serving as logistical coordinator of the 1999 statewide professional environmental educators conference. Mr. Hastings was a recipient of an Impact II curriculum development award, and he contributed to the Sly Park state standards curriculum correlation document. His supervisor says he is not only a "dedicated and talented instructor," but a valued member ("Honorary Vice President") of the "Sly Park Ski Team." Mr. Hastings has been employed by SCOE since September, 1989.