October 2016

It is with pleasure that FCOE honored Lizzie Gutierrez, Facilities Technician, as the October 2016 Employee of the Month.

Lizzie first joined the Fresno County Office of Education family in May 2011 as a temporary Staff Secretary. It didn’t take long for FCOE to realize she was special and she was moved into a permanent position as the Administrative Assistant in the Facilities & Operations department. When the opportunity arose to move to the Facilities Technician position, she jumped at the change. For the past two years, she has been adding her special touch to everything she does.

In all of her positions, Lizzie has become a master of implementing new projects and systems. She has improved countless processes, including room reservations and key checkout, created record retention and filing systems for 40 years’ worth of blueprints and maintains and oversees important building systems such as door controls, fire alarms and cameras. Her attention to detail makes her a perfect fit in her role handling compliance with technical and complex building requirements, including fire department inspections and asbestos regulations.

“I’m a systematic person,” said Lizzie. “I really enjoy technology and in my job I’m able to integrate my technical skills.”

All of these tasks touch other departments in some way and Lizzie is impeccable in her communication and coordination with her colleagues. She is always respectful of her coworkers and takes whatever time necessary to make sure they understand how any project will impact them.

Lizzie is the model of intelligence, dependability, efficiency and is constantly learning. She recently completed the Masters in Public Administration program at Fresno State. Before joining FCOE, Lizzie spent three years in Korea teaching English and was later promoted to hiring teachers.

“I really do think I work in the best department,” said Lizzie of her Facilities colleagues. “We have an attitude of customer service. We are given the opportunity to constantly strive for excellence and that drives me.”

The Fresno County Office of Education, in partnership with the Educational Employees Credit Union, hosted the annual Educator of the Year Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 27 at the William Saroyan Theatre. The winners of the School Employee and Teacher categories have the opportunity to apply for the California Department of Education awards in 2017.

The Educator of the Year application process begins in March when FCOE receives the completed nomination packets from school districts. Each district has the opportunity to nominate one honoree for each of the three categories. The judging process begins with a committee pre-reading the nomination packets and ranking them. The top applications are given to the final selection committee who narrows the field to three finalists in each category. The winners are chosen by closed ballot. This year, 21 nominations were received for School Employee of the Year, 15 for Administrator of the Year and 22 for Teacher of the Year.

The following winners were chosen in each category:

School Employee of the Year
• Danny Alberty, Fresno Unified School District – Alberty is a campus assistant at Edison High School. He has worked in education for 30 years. He said of his position, “While my job is campus assistant and athletic coach, what I do is so much more. I am a peacemaker, a guide, a motivational speaker, a shoulder to cry on, a sounding board, a voice of reason and a friend. As I continue to interact with students of all walks of life, I know that what I do matters because I am able to make a difference in the life of a child.”

Administrator of the Year
• Bob Kampf, Clovis Unified School District – Kampf is director of supplemental services at Clovis Unified School District. He has worked in education for 36 years. He said of this honor, “It is truly about ‘team’ and the opportunity to work with the most talented and dedicated educators possible. Here’s to making sure every student crosses the stage to graduate in 12th grade!”

Teacher of the Year
• Jacqueline Ruiz, Fresno Unified School District – Ruiz is a lead chemistry teacher, International Baccalaureate program environmental systems teacher and pep and cheer director at Fresno High School. She has been a teacher for five years. She said of her position, “I want students to construct their own knowledge rather than have me lecture to them. When students take responsibility for their own learning, they figure out what works best for them, do better staying in their optimal learning modality and gain not just knowledge to pass an exam, but true understanding.”

Joselyn North is a junior at Kingsburg High School. She is dedicated to volunteering in her community, at her school and in projects helping children and families in Kenya, Africa. Over the last four years, Joselyn has helped raise more than $8,000 to benefit the Kenya Hope Project. She baked hundreds of items and helped sell them to raise funds.

Joselyn is also a regular volunteer for the community food drive through YoungLife, at Rafer Johnson Junior High School for all events and much more. She is a 4.0 student and a cheerleader.

The Fresno County Office of Education’s Migrant Education department was a sponsor of Feria de Educación at Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 22. More than 7,000 students and families attended the education fair to learn more about opportunities to attend college. Workshops were also given in Spanish, allowing attendees to explore career and education pathways, learn about financial aid, experience STEM-related careers and enjoy a day of family fun.