Alameda County Recognizes Classified Employees of the Year

Three Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) employees were recently recognized by the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) as 2016-17 Classified School Employees of the Year.

Each year, OUSD selects six Classified School Employees of the Year, who are then considered by the county for recognition. County winners are sent to the California Department of Education for the state-level selection.

OUSD’s remaining three winners from the district also received an Honorable Mention from ACOE.

The three winners were:

Elba Martinez-de Pineda, Instruction Support Specialist, Emerson Elementary School, who has been commended for taking the lead when it comes to mainstreaming students and pushing them past their comfort zones, demanding the best from them.

Rene Essex, School Security Officer, Alliance Academy and Elmhurst Community Prep, who has been recognized for being a constant, visible presence in hallways and classrooms, well-known for having firm but loving relationships with all students and knowing most students’ names, which is integral in ensuring student safety during class and in the yard.

Rena Moore, Transportation Specialist, Cole Transportation, who has been commended for getting more than 2,000 special education students to school safely and on time, assisting with assigning bus routes, evaluating route compliance, data scheduling, behavior incidents as well as the coordination of all aspects of home-to-school special education transportation.

Honorable mention winners were:

Qi Yu Ma, Food Services Assistant
Skyline High School, who has been recognized for being a quality worker on the kitchen staff, always highly aware of what is going on in the kitchen and supportive of the cook and all of her coworkers.

Carolyn Major, Custodian, Acorn Woodland Elementary, who has been recognized for her integrity, work ethic and commitment to outstanding service delivery. She is known for her dedication to excellence for over 17 years as an OUSD employee, consistently showing great pride in her work and commitment to quality.