FUSD - FUSD's Sylvia Kipness Honored as a County Classified Employee of the Year

FUSD's Sylvia Kipness Honored as a County Classified Employee of the Year

Sylvia Kipness, a kitchen operator at Summit High School, was one of six San Bernardino County school workers named 2010 Classified School Employees of the Year. "These recipients represent the thousands of classified members who help provide safe, clean and productive environments for the students in our county every day," said County Superintendent Gary Thomas. "Without their work, our schools and districts could not function,"

Ms. Kipness, was the recipient in the category of Child Nutrition. She has worked as a kitchen operator at Summit High School for the past eight years. Ms. Kipness is highly respected by co-workers around the school for the pride she takes in her job to the benefit of students. "Sylvia is an outstanding worker," wrote Richard Bruce, USW President, in support of Ms. Kipness. "Many of the kids call her 'mom.' She has befriended many of the kids, which is hard to do at a high school."

The other county Classified School Employees of the Year, their positions and the schools and/or districts they represent are: Martha Degortari, secretary, in the Child Development Department for the Rialto Unified School District; Sesaria Estrella, transportation scheduler, for the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools; Rica Medalen, para-educator, at Bloomington Middle School for the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools; Nancy Szydloski, parent volunteer coordinator, at Sandia Elementary in the Apple Valley Unified School District; and Tom Ziech, groundskeeper, in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District.

Each of the employees were nominated by their school districts and selected by a judging panel for the statewide program. The county winners advance to a California Classified Employees of the Year competition. The state recipients will be announced later in April.

(Photo courtesy of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. From left to right, Dave Gumpertz of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, S. Michael Tahan - County Board Member, Sylvia Kipness, and Gary Thomas - County Superintendent)

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