President's message
We are Essential.
That's a phrase we've heard more and more over the past year, a phrase that accurately describes the role classified employees play in the lives of our students and the success of our schools.. The critical work we perform everyday can sometimes be taken for granted, but the last twelve months have shown the entire state of California how essential our work is to keeping our students learning, fed and safe. Our work didn't stop when our students went home a year ago. In fact, our work became even more important as we stepped up to feed our communities and adapt our teaching systems to accommodate distance learning and safety protocols. This issue's feature story highlights just a handful of the incredible stories of dedication and service our members have demonstrated during this pandemic. I'm sure you'll find them as inspiring and uplifting as I have.
"Remember that your work is appreciated and essential to the success of our students' education."
The work of these members and all classified staff has been noticed and recognized far and wide for its heroic scope, which is why the term "Essential" has become synonymous with classified staff. It is also why we were able to secure enormous victories in Sacramento like dedicated vaccinations for school employees and funding to not only reopen schools safely, but to rehire our laid-off paraeducator colleagues and hire even more new paraeducators to help address our students' lost learning opportunities. These victories and more, which only happened because of your hard work and our unified voice in Sacramento, are detailed in this issue's From the Capitol section. Be sure to read about our bills that are working their way through the legislative process and hold promise to significantly impact our job security. As we welcome back the students we've dearly missed seeing in person, I hope you'll find, in their smiling eyes above their masks, a renewed sense of joy and inspiration that drew us all to the calling of public education. Remember that your work is appreciated and essential to the success of our students' education. The role you play in each of their lives is larger than you'll ever know.
Ben Valdepeña, Association President
We are Essential.
That's a phrase we've heard more and more over the past year, a phrase that accurately describes the role classified employees play in the lives of our students and the success of our schools.. The critical work we perform everyday can sometimes be taken for granted, but the last twelve months have shown the entire state of California how essential our work is to keeping our students learning, fed and safe. Our work didn't stop when our students went home a year ago. In fact, our work became even more important as we stepped up to feed our communities and adapt our teaching systems to accommodate distance learning and safety protocols. This issue's feature story highlights just a handful of the incredible stories of dedication and service our members have demonstrated during this pandemic. I'm sure you'll find them as inspiring and uplifting as I have.
"Remember that your work is appreciated and essential to the success of our students' education."
The work of these members and all classified staff has been noticed and recognized far and wide for its heroic scope, which is why the term "Essential" has become synonymous with classified staff. It is also why we were able to secure enormous victories in Sacramento like dedicated vaccinations for school employees and funding to not only reopen schools safely, but to rehire our laid-off paraeducator colleagues and hire even more new paraeducators to help address our students' lost learning opportunities. These victories and more, which only happened because of your hard work and our unified voice in Sacramento, are detailed in this issue's From the Capitol section. Be sure to read about our bills that are working their way through the legislative process and hold promise to significantly impact our job security. As we welcome back the students we've dearly missed seeing in person, I hope you'll find, in their smiling eyes above their masks, a renewed sense of joy and inspiration that drew us all to the calling of public education. Remember that your work is appreciated and essential to the success of our students' education. The role you play in each of their lives is larger than you'll ever know.
Ben Valdepeña, Association President
