PYLUSD leaders job shadow employees as a part of CSEA “ACE” event

On Friday, May 25, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) and California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter #293 held the Appreciating Classified Employees (ACE) event.

The goal of the ACE program is to celebrate and call attention to the contributions of classified school employees through “job shadowing,” during which school district administrators observe first-hand and participate in the work and responsibilities of classified employees.  Notably, CSEA only selects ten chapters out of the eight hundred throughout California to be a part of this program each year.

That day, District leaders had the opportunity to participate in a one hour job shadow of a classified employee.  A wide variety of positions were shadowed including groundskeepers, bus drivers, finance clerks, secretaries, campus supervisors, and much more.  Kevin Lee, the District’s Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, took the opportunity to learn more about the duties and responsibilities of Tim Gray, a PYLUSD electrician.

After a morning full of learning, District leaders and classified employees joined together to reflect on the day’s events over lunch.  Daisy Bennett, 2nd Vice President of CSEA Chapter #293 and one of the driving forces behind bringing the ACE program to PYLUSD, welcomed attendees and further explained the importance behind ACE.

Dr. Greg Plutko, Superintendent, also addressed those in attendance and reiterated the significance of classified employees and their impact on students, teachers, administrators, and PYLUSD as a whole.

Julian Peeples, Senior Editorial Advisor for CSEA and keynote speaker for the event, and CSEA Chapter #293 President, Job Suarez, further emphasized the same message and tied it into CSEA’s slogan of, “Classified Employees: The Heartbeat of our Schools.”

In closing, Kevin Lee shared a personal story about a positive, impactful experience he had with a classified employee when he was just a young student.  He then presented Daisy Bennett with “The PYLUSD Advantage” Challenge Coin for her efforts in organizing the District’s ACE event.  The District’s Human Resources Department including Kevin Lee, and Directors Nancy Blade and Rick Lopez, are also credited in large part with organizing the event.

The event concluded the District’s celebration of Classified School Employee Week May 20-26, 2018.   Classified employees — thank you for the extensive amount of devoted work that you do in support of PYLUSD!  You truly are the Advantage!

CSEA
Daisy Bennett, 2nd Vice President
Anthony Solis, Labor Relations Representative
Tiara Cox, Field Director
Bill Hagar, Area Director
Julian Peeples, Senior Editor Advisor
Job Suarez, Chapter President
Chris Lawyer, 1st Vice President
Cheryl Townsend, Treasurer