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. Over 230,000 K-12 students are served by public schools in Sacramento County.
Classified Employee of the Month Team
Jan Bateman and Dee Stayner, Para-Educators SH, were nominated as a team by Special Education Principal Sharon Holstege for their contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE). Jan Bateman works at SCOE's inclusive preschool program at Hillsdale Head Start. She helps to support 12 children with a variety of special needs in the morning and afternoon preschool classes. Ms. Bateman has been a Para-Educator serving kindergarten through young adult students with severe disabilities in special day classes for many years. She transitioned last year to work in the preschool program. Says her supervisor, "It is not everyone who can be successful working with all age groups, but Jan seamlessly transitioned into the preschool program. Jan is a conscientious, supportive, and reliable employee who is willing to do whatever it takes to make things better for students, families and other staff. Jan is also a mother of a son with special needs who participated in SCOE's SH program and is a wonderful resource for us in terms of the family perspective." Dee Stayner serves at SCOE's inclusive preschool program at Hillsdale Head Start. She helps to support 12 children with a variety of special needs in a.m. and p.m. classes. Ms. Stayner started with SCOE as a Para-Educator in a general education program within the Natomas Unified School District, supporting an elementary student with autism. She worked extremely well with the campus's general education teachers, her student with special needs, other students, and the parents of her student. Her support of this student assisted in turning around an adversarial relationship with this family into one of collaboration. The student she was supporting gained many skills and became quite successful in general education classrooms. Her supervisor comments, "I will never forget one IEP with the family, where Dee had prepared a slideshow of pictures of his day to help build a picture of this student's successes." Ms. Stayner has a multiple subject teaching credential and a special education credential and chooses to make a difference in the lives of her students as an extremely competent and capable Para-Educator. She is a skilled educator who continues to make a difference in children's lives on a daily basis. Concludes the supervisor of these employees, "We are very fortunate to have such a competent team to support our students at Hillsdale!" Ms. Bateman has been employed by the Sacramento County Office of Education since January 1996. Ms. Stayner has been a Sacramento County Office of Education employee since 2006.
Certificated Employee of the Month
Stephanie LeSieur Byrnes, CARE Teacher, was nominated by Community School Principal Lisa Alcalá for her contributions to the Sacramento County Office of Education. Stephanie teaches 9th grade English, Health and Algebra to students at Laguna Creek High School. Ms. LeSieur Byrnes was an integral part of working with students and families before the start of the school year, inviting them into SCOE's unique CARE (Community Action for Responsive Education) program. Students were recommended to the CARE program from the feeder middle school because they were at risk of failing their freshman year. Says her supervisor, "Ms. LeSieur Byrnes is a dedicated employee who gives nothing but her best." She comments that during the summer Ms. LeSieur Byrnes could be found in her new classroom cleaning, organizing and prepping curriculum in readiness for the new year. Rose Penrose, Interim Vice Principal of Laguna Creek High School, had the following to say about Ms. LeSieur Byrnes: "It is a privilege to work with such a dedicated teacher. Beyond doing a good job teaching the curriculum, Ms. LeSieur Byrnes works very hard to build positive relationships with her students to help them find success. She is profoundly impacting the lives of each student in the CARE program. She is collaborative, insightful, and spunky." Concludes her supervisor, "When you walk into Ms. LeSieur Byrnes's class, her students are engaged and happy. Her hard work and that of her students has paid off. As a group, the students have raised their average GPA by 60%, and behavior referrals have dramatically decreased." Ms. LeSieur Byrnes has been employed by the Sacramento County of Education since 2013.