Recognition Events

SCOE is pleased to offer county-wide events recognizing students, teachers, and classified staff.

Announcements

Employees Making a Difference

Employees Making a Difference 2025: January 22, 2025

Location: Petersen Event Center (720 12th Street, Modesto CA 95354)

SCOE Announces Names of Five “Employees Making a Difference” to Represent Stanislaus County at Statewide Recognition Program

The Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region VII partnered to honor outstanding classified (non-supervisory) education employees in Stanislaus County. Called “Employees Making a Difference,” school districts throughout the county selected their own honorees and forwarded nominations to SCOE. Twenty-eight outstanding classified staff were honored at the event on January 22, 2025, and nine honorees were selected to represent Stanislaus County in the California Department of Education’s statewide recognition program. The representatives (one from nine work-categories) announced were:

Pamela Ingalls, Typist Clerk II, Modesto City Schools, Clerical & Administrative Services Category
Bertina Bettencourt, Food Service Worker III, Chatom Union School District, Food & Nutrition Services Category
Hilda Gutierrez, Family Advocate, Waterford Unified School District, Health and Student Services Category
Elizabeth Giannone, Resource Support Para-professional, Turlock Unified School District, Paraprofessional Services Category
Zachary Sward, Campus Supervisor-Secondary, Turlock Unified School District, Security Services Category
Reginaldo Valenzuela, Head custodian, Empire Union School District, Custodial & Maintenance Services Category
Clayton Gassittie, Mechanic, Ceres Unified School District, Skilled Trade Services Category
Nicholas Durant, Network Engineer, Patterson Joint Unified School District, Technical Services Category
Maryann Largent, Driver Trainer, Oakdale Joint Unified School District, Transportation Services Category

Also, during the event, Stephen Burkett from the Stanislaus County Office of Education received the annual Jane Johnston Civility Award for exemplifying the principles of civility both at work and in his personal life.

Announcing the 2025 Employees Making a Difference Honorees.

For the 18^th year running, the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region VII will partner to honor outstanding classified (non-supervisory) education employees in Stanislaus County. Twenty-eight exceptional classified staff will be honored at an award ceremony on Wednesday, January 22 at 4:00 p.m. at the Martin Petersen Event Center (720 12^th Street, Modesto). Called “Employees Making a Difference,” school districts throughout the county selected their honorees and forwarded nominations to SCOE.

Nine of the 28 honorees will be selected to represent Stanislaus County in the California Department of Education’s statewide Classified Employees of the Year recognition program. The names of the nine individuals will be announced at the event.

First Name	Last Name	District	Job Title	Worksite
Ashton	Avila	Ceres Unified	Paraprofessional III	Student Services Department
Bertina	Bettencourt	Chatom Union	Food Service Worker III	Chatom Elementary
Stephen	Burkett	SCOE	Facilities Support Technician	SCOE
Teresa	Camara	Riverbank Unified	Administrative Assistant	District Office
Melody	Chavez	Keyes Union	Community Liaison	Spratling Middle School / Keyes USD
Amy	Corona	Turlock Unified	Para-Educator/Sp Ed-Severe	Cunningham Elementary School
Nicholas	Durant	Patterson Joint Unified	Network Engineer	District Wide
Stan	England	Stanislaus Union	Maintenance II	Districtwide
Saralee	Ferrel	Sylvan Union	Instructional Paraprofessional	Freedom Elementary School
Stacy	Galvan	Hughson Unified	Language Lab Para Educator	Fox Road Elementary
Tamara	Garrett	Modesto City Schools	Yard duty Supervisor	MARTONE
Clayton	Gassittie	Ceres Unified	Mechanic	District Office
Elizabeth	Giannone	Turlock Unified	Para-Education/Sp Ed Non-Severe	Dutcher Middle School
Manuel	Gonzalez	Modesto City Schools	Head Custodian II	Burbank Elementary
Hilda	Gutierrez	Waterford Unified	Family Advocate	Child Development Center
Dolores	Hernandez	Oakdale Joint Unified	Custodian	Oakdale Junior High School
Pamela	Ingalls	Modesto City Schools	Typist Clerk II	MODESTO HIGH SCHOOL
Kalin	Kent	Salida Union	Executive Secretary	District Office
Rohini	Kishor	Ceres Unified	Cafe Manager	Central Valley High School
Maryann	Largent	Oakdale Joint Unified	Bus Driver Trainer	Transportation
Laura	Maldonado	Denair Unified	Principal Secretary	Denair Charter Academy
Catherine	Manning	Patterson Joint Unified	Administrative Assistant II	Del Puerto High School
Stacy	Schleigh	Private or Charter School	Administrative Assistant	Great Valley Academy-Salida
Poppy	Spears	Newman-Crows Landing Unified	Instructional Aide	Hunt Elementary
Zachary	Sward	Turlock Unified	Campus Supervisor-Secondary	Pitman High School
Paula	Valbuena-Leon	Modesto City Schools	District Translator & Interpreter-Spanish	Modesto City Schools
Reginaldo	Valenzuela	Empire Union	Head Custodian	Capistrano Elementary
Katie	Wyckoff-Stewart	Sylvan Union	Staff Secretary	Sherwood Elementary School

Photos - Employees Making a Difference

Every Student Succeeding

Every Student Succeeding Program Regional Nominee Announced

The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), Stanislaus Charter and the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) honored 24 local students during the Every Student Succeeding Recognition event on March 11, 2025.
At the end of the program, Superintendent Scott Kuykendall announced that Naomi Campbell, a 12^th grade student from Adelante High School (Riverbank Unified School District), is the ACSA regional nominee and recipient of the $500 scholarship.
The “Every Student Succeeding” program honors students who have succeeded against challenges, gone beyond expectations, or simply won the hearts of their teachers and other staff. Presenting sponsors include E. & J. Gallo Winery; Mocse Credit Union; Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud, & Romo; Shoob Photography; and the Association of Stanislaus County School Boards.

Teachers of the Year

Teacher of the Year 2025: May 6, 2025

Location: DoubleTree Hotel Modesto Grand Ballroom

Congratulations to the 2024 Stanislaus County Teachers of the Year

High School Category -Dave Zylstra, Hughson High School, Hughson Unified School District
7-8th Grade Category - Aaron Salazar, Ustach Middle School, Sylvan Union School District
4-6th Grade Category - Nancy Barajas, Fairview Elementary School, Modesto City Schools
TK-3rd Grade Category - Raman Kang, La Rosa Elementary School, Ceres Unified School District

Click on the videos below to learn more about the 12 teacher finalists.

The four selected as Teachers of the Year each received a $1,000 cash award from the Modesto Rotary Club Foundation. Mocse Credit Union also sponsored the event and provided funding for the awards.
The Jane Johnston Civility Award was presented to Aaron Salazar from Ustach Middle School in the Sylvan Union School District. Salazar received a $1,000 cash award from the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County for exemplifying one of the 12 traits of civility. The Civility Award is in honor of Jane Johnston, former SCOE Assistant Superintendent and Education Foundation member.

This is the 25^th year that Modesto Rotary and SCOE have joined efforts to honor teachers in Stanislaus County. The program not only honors local teachers and celebrates excellence in education, but also provides an opportunity for teachers to receive state and national recognition. All four Teachers of the Year will go on to represent Stanislaus County in the State Teacher of the Year Program. One state winner then proceeds to the national level.

“It’s an honor to partner with Modesto Rotary for 25 years to recognize outstanding teachers – each who helps inspire and shape the lives of students in our county each and every day,” said County Superintendent of Schools Scott Kuykendall.

Sponsors of the Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year program include the Modesto Rotary Club Foundation, Stanislaus County Office of Education and Mocse Credit Union, with additional awards provided by the Association of Stanislaus County School Boards.

The 2024 Teachers of the Year Finalists are:

Elementary (TK-3) Level	School	District
Kelly Armstrong	Martone Elementary	Modesto City Schools
Megan Goncalves	Virgnia Parks Elementary	Ceres Unified
Elementary (4-6) Level	School	District
Kiley Brockfield	California Avenue Elementary	Riverbank Unified
Jessica Fisher	Fair Oaks Elementary	Oakdale Joint Unified
Jr. High (7-8) Level	School	District
Christopher Long	Dan Savage Middle	Sylvan Union
Danelle McMillen	Mae Hensley Jr. High	Ceres Unified
High School (9-12) Level	School	District
Eva Lear	Pitman High	Turlock Unified
Richard Mickelson	Central Valley High	Ceres Unified

Early Care & Education Employee of the Year

The Early Care and Education Employee of the year program is designed to pay tribute to the incredible Early Care and Education Staff in Stanislaus County. It serves as recognition of many challenges of ECE educators/staff face every day in their centers and in the community, and to promote public recognition and respect for the Early Care and Education profession. This program celebrates the exceptional work of positive role models who provide services under these three pillars:

Educating Children
Supporting Parents and Families
Developing Professionals and Program Support

The program is implemented with the involvement of local public Early Care and Education centers within Stanislaus County and is administered by the Child & Family Services department and Universal Pre-Kindergarten.

Contact Us

1100 H Street
Modesto, CA 95354
Phone: (209) 238-1706
Fax: (209) 238-4201

Find Key Contacts

Social

County-wide Student and Staff Recognition Events

Check out the following information to learn more.

Child & Family Services Early Care and Education Employee of the Year Overview

The Early Care and Education Employee of the Year program is designed to pay tribute to the incredible early care and education staff in Stanislaus County. Contact Leah Welch-Jackson lwelch-jackson@stancoe.org 238-6396 or Lisa Cheim lcheim@stancoe.org 238-6306.

Learn More about Child & Family Services Early Care and Education Employee of the Year Overview

awards ceremony two people shaking hands

Employees Making a Difference

The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the local Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region VII partner to honor outstanding classified (non-supervisory) education employees in Stanislaus County.

Learn More about Employees Making a Difference

superintendent with VCHS student ACSA president

Every Student Succeeding

The Every Student Succeeding program honors students in grades K-12 who have overcome serious challenges, succeeded beyond expectations, or won the hearts of their school staff.

Learn More about Every Student Succeeding

Teacher of the Year

The Teachers of the Year program is designed to pay special tribute to outstanding TK-12 teachers in Stanislaus County, recognize that teachers face many challenges daily in their classrooms and the community, and promote public recognition and respect for the teaching profession.

Learn More about Teacher of the Year

Teacher of the Year Program Overview

Introduction

This program celebrates the exceptional work of positive role models who:

Inspire all students to reach their highest academic potential and work to maximize their social and emotional development;

Consistently support high expectations for learning and responsible behavior at school and within the community;

Approach teaching with creativity, enthusiasm, and a genuine appreciation for the individual differences among all students; and,

Cultivate a life-long interest in learning among all students.

The program is implemented with the involvement of local public and private schools within Stanislaus County. The Modesto Rotary Club and the Stanislaus County Office of Education administer it.

APPLICATION

Nomination Process

Principals are encouraged to nominate one teacher at their school who fits the eligibility criteria below to be considered for the County Teacher of the Year Awards. Each school may only have one nominee per year. Teachers previously nominated but not selected as the Teacher of the Year may be nominated again. Nominees must:

Be teachers of grades TK-12 in public or private schools located within Stanislaus County;

Be the teacher of record for designated students and not fully released from the classroom;

Be fully credentialed through the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing;

Have taught a minimum of 8 years (perhaps across districts), inclusive of the year of nomination;

If County Teacher of the Year is chosen, be willing to serve on the screening team and attend the luncheon for the following year. Substitutes will be paid at the district's expense. SCOE Administration will pay for luncheon ticket; and,

Be willing to participate at the state and national levels of competition if selected.

Requirements for Application

All applications and narratives will be submitted exclusively through a designated link provided to Executive Assistants who support Superintendents. The teacher's submission will not exceed 1000 words, and the principal's submission will not exceed 500 words. The superintendent and designee(s) can view the submissions. The superintendent and designee(s) will also receive an email notifying them that a district teacher has begun the process. All documents must be completed and approved by the superintendent or designee on January 24, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. Please note: no paper, faxed, or emailed versions will be accepted.

The principal and teacher must approve videotaping in the teacher's classroom.

In addition to allowing time for videotaping in the school and classroom, the principal must be prepared to provide release time for the honoree to attend the Modesto Rotary luncheon on May 6, 2025.

Selection Process

A selection committee (composed of Educators, Rotarians, and previous Teacher of the Year winners) reviews applications and visits classrooms. It ultimately selects three finalists for each grade level group: TK-3, 4-6, junior high, and high school. The committee does not have a single type of teacher in mind; selected teachers may have very different teaching styles and methods. But committee members will search for those teachers who best engage their students and whose students are learning from the lesson observed.

STEP 1: Electronic applications are due January 24, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. The Selection Committee will review all applications and select six teachers to visit in each category: TK-3, 4-6, 7-8, and 9-12. (The principal's narrative will count for 1/3 of the total score, and the teacher's narrative will count for 2/3 of the total score.)

STEP 2: Twenty-four teachers will be observed from February 26 to March 8, 2025. Committee members will visit the site, review the applications again, and select three finalists from each category. One teacher in each category will receive the Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year Award from those three.
The Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year will not be announced until the May luncheon.

STEP 3: The twelve selected teachers will be videotaped in their classrooms during the last two weeks of March. A special video will be created and presented during the Modesto Rotary Club luncheon on May 6, 2025.

STEP 4: During the May 6 luncheon, eight teachers will receive a Teacher of the Year Finalist Award, and the four winners will receive their County Teacher of the Year award and a $1,000 check. Each Teacher of the Year finalist and a guest, the principal, and the superintendent will receive complimentary tickets to the luncheon from the Modesto Rotary Club. Additional tickets may be purchased based on availability. Payments for extra tickets must be paid by the deadline of April 18, 2025.

STEP 5: In June, the four winners will be interviewed. Two teachers will be selected to represent Stanislaus County in the California Teacher of the Year program per state guidelines. These teachers will complete the state application by July 2025. The state competition's representatives are announced each year in September.

The Jane Johnston Civility Award

Honorarium

Luncheon Reservations

Event Contact

Early Care & Education Employee of the Year

Nomination Process

Site Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Colleagues, and Administrators are encouraged to nominate up to three educator/staff in each pillar, at their agency who fits the eligibility criteria below to be considered for the Early Care and Education Employee of the Year Awards. Each agency may only have one nominee per pillar per year. Employees who were previously nominated but not selected as the Early Care and Education Employee of the Year may be nominated again. Nominees must:

Be a paid staff person at a fully licensed early care & education program under the Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) umbrella.
Be a paid staff person in one of the aforementioned programs working with children ages 0-5 and be affiliated with Stanislaus County Office of Education directly or as a sub-recipient, sub-contractor or partner.
Be at an agency which has provided services for a minimum of 3 years at the time of review and selection of nominations.
Be willing to be featured on social media.

APPLICATION

Educating Children Category

The Educating Children pillar is dedicated to staff members working directly with children in various service modalities, including family childcare homes and center-based programs. The positions encompassed within this pillar include, but are not limited to, the following roles:

Early Childhood Associate Teacher
Early Childhood Master Teacher
Early Childhood Teacher
Early Head Start Associate Teacher
Early Head Start Master Teacher
Teacher’s Aide
Inclusion Specialist, Child and Family Services
Family Childcare Home Providers
Home Based Educator
Infant Toddler/Early Start Teacher
Arts Coordinator
Full-Year Master Teacher
Full-Year Preschool Associate Teacher
Full-Year Preschool Teacher
Full-Year State Preschool Teacher
Harvest of the Month Program Assistant
Infant/Toddler Educator
Preschool Associate Teacher
Preschool Master Teacher
Preschool Teacher
Preschool Teacher, Special Education
Preschool Teacher, Special Education
State Preschool Associate Teacher

Developing Professionals & Program Support Category

The Developing Professionals pillar is dedicated to staff members who support educators and those involved in developing training programs for staff and the community. These individuals facilitate professional development for those working directly with children or in supportive roles. The positions encompassed within this pillar include, but are not limited to, the following roles:

Child Development Specialist
Coach
Inclusion Specialist
Child Care Specialist I - Early Head Start
Early Childhood Education Navigator
Behavioral Support Program Analyst

Supporting Parents & Families Category

The Supporting Parents and Families pillar is dedicated to staff members who work directly with families, addressing their needs and connecting them with community outreach services that help them achieve and maintain stability. Positions within this pillar include, but are not limited to, the following:

Family and Community Services Specialist
Full-Year Licensed Vocational Nurse
Health and Social Service Worker
Eligibility and Enrollment staff
Mental Health Specialist
CFS Nutrition Services Specialist
Child Care Specialist I- Pregnant Women Services
Family Eligibility Specialist
Family Eligibility Worker
Licensed Vocational Nurse
Family Service Worker

Honorarium

Selection Process

The Three Step Selection Process

Step 1: The selection committee will review applications and select 5 nominees’ from each of the 3 categories. (The nominator’s narrative will count for 1/3 of the total score.) The selected applicants and their program administrator/director must approve video recording in the nominee’s work environment.

Step 2: 6 Educators/Staff will be shadowed during the weeks of August 25-September 12 and submit their Nominee Narrative (this will count for 2/3 the total score). Committee members will make the site visits to shadow, review the applications again and select two finalists from each pillar. From those two, one nominee in each pillar will receive the County Early Care and Education Employee of the Year Award but, this will not be announced until the End of Year Celebration.

Step 3: The 3 selected finalists will also be videotaped in their workspaces the weeks of September 22-October 3. A special video will be created, presented during the Regional Pre-service in March 2026.

Event Contacts

Recognition Months

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month is an annual celebration of the history and culture of the U.S. Latinx and Hispanic communities. The event, which spans from September 15 to October 15, commemorates how those communities have influenced and contributed to American society at large.

Why the Date of Hispanic Heritage Month Is Important

The timing of Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of several Latin American nations. September 15 was chosen as the kickoff because it coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of five “Central American neighbors,” as Johnson called them—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Those five nations declared their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821.

Resources and Celebrations

Video clips of the 2024 Teacher of the Year Finalists

TK-3rd grade Category

7-8th Grade Category

4-6th grade Category

High School Category

Key Contacts

Jason Maggard

Titles: Chief of Staff

Email:

Phone Numbers:
Work: 209-238-1708

Itzel Amezcua

Titles: Itinerant Data Technician

Email:

Phone Numbers:
Work: 209-238-1841

Samantha Anaya

Titles: Executive Assistant (Confidential)

Email:

Phone Numbers:
Work: 209-238-1706

Judy Boring

Titles: Director II, Communications

Email:

Phone Numbers:
Work: 209-238-1709