SBCSS News and Press Releases

Six Recipients Recognized As County School Classified Employees Of Year

2009-03-27

SAN BERNARDINO - Six San Bernardino County school workers have been named 2009 Classified School Employees of the Year and will be recognized by the County Board of Education in April, County Superintendent Gary Thomas announced today.

"Representing the thousands of classified employees, these recipients have shown outstanding ability in helping to create safe and productive environments for students so that they can achieve," Thomas said.

The employees were nominated by their school districts and selected by a judging panel for the statewide program, which was initiated last year by Jack O'Connell, the state superintendent of Public Instruction. The county winners advance to a California Classified Employees of the Year competition. The state recipients will be announced in April.

On April 6, the San Bernardino County Board of Education will honor the county recipients.

The county Classified School Employees of the Year, their positions and the schools and/or districts they represent are:

Irene Garnica, outreach consultant in Student Support Services, in the Chino Valley Unified School District;

Vicki Gullotti, child nutritionist, at Woodcrest Junior High in the Chino Valley Unified School District;

Pete Krupka, skilled maintenance craftsman, in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District;

Ana Rodriguez, instructional assistant, at Ernest Garcia Elementary in the Rialto Unified School District;

Rachel Sarabia, bus driver, in the Oro Grande School District;

Linda Van Mossevelde, secretary, at Rancho Cucamonga High School in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District.

Selected in the category of Support Services and Security, Garnica has been an outreach consultant for 13 years to assist families in returning truant students back to school. "Irene finds a way to not only connect and instill hope and promise for the future of these students, but she also provides these services with a smile," wrote Colleen Alton, assistant principal at Don Lugo High School, in Garnica's nomination.

For Gullotti, the recipient in the category of Child Nutrition, she has been the Nutrition Services roving manager/caterer for Woodcrest for the past two years and has worked for Chino Valley Unified for 11 years. "I believe one of (Vicki's) greatest attributes is her exemplary attitude," wrote Susan Hartley, director of Nutrition Services for Chino Valley, in support of Gullotti.

In the category of Maintenance and Operations, Krupka has worked in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Maintenance and Operations Division for the past 11 years. "Pete demonstrates motivation and dedication to his job and any other school district tasks or needs that he is asked to do year after year," wrote Maintenance Manager Ed Quintero in Krupka's nomination.

Rodriguez was chosen as the recipient in the category of Para-Educator and Instructional Assistance. For the past two years, she has worked with special education students at Garcia Elementary and has been an instructional assistant in Rialto Unified since 1999. "(Ana) is a role model to other instructional assistants on our staff," wrote Garcia Principal Jasmin Valenzuela in the nomination of Rodriguez.

As a bus driver for the past 25 years in Oro Grande, Sarabia was selected as the Classified School Employee of the Year in the Transportation category. "When it comes to stepping in and going above and beyond, Rachel is the role model of these efforts," wrote Oro Grande Superintendent Kim Moore in Sarabia's nomination.

For the past 17 years, Van Mossevelde has been a secretary at Rancho Cucamonga High
and is the recipient in the category of Office and Technical Services. "Her in-depth knowledge of the school and its culture, as well as her expertise in building the master schedule, has been vital to smooth school operations," wrote Rancho Cucamonga Principal Kern Oduro in Van Mossevelde's nomination.