On Wednesday, November 20th, we celebrate National Education Support Professionals Day. Without the efforts and dedication of our education support staff, we could not accomplish all that is required to successfully educate students. Although we cannot spotlight each of them, here are a few employees who represent the caliber and commitment of all of our education support professionals. Thanks, team, for all you do!
Position: Nurse (Nursing and Health Services Department)
Mandi Pinochi has been a nurse for CCSD for two years and has worked in hospitals for 20 more. Our school district has seven nurses who oversee and train the health aides in each of our 25 schools.
“Each nurse oversees six schools,” Mandi explained. “We do a lot of education because we delegate our licenses to the health aides. We also create health plans for students and do medication inventory, but my favorite part is going into the schools and just interacting with the kids.”
CCSD Head Nurse Karen Peterson explained, “Nurses are vital to our district because they have the education and knowledge to make sure that any health plans are done safely. They also have the training to do assessments, so they may pick up on things that others miss.”
“I love it (this job),” Mandi said. “I always wanted to be a nurse and a teacher. This seemed like the perfect way to do both.”
Position: Career Center Coordinator (CTE Department)
Marcy Hansen has been a Career Center Coordinator (CCC) for 17 years.
“I think ‘Career Center Coordinator’ is a bit of a misnomer,” she said. “It’s better listed as ‘Career Exploration Teacher.’”
The position is unique, however, in that she and the other seven CCCs visit classrooms for every student in the school. This allows each student to receive the curriculum that sparks ideas for career possibilities.
“My job is to help students start to get a grip on what they’re going to be doing,” Marcy continued. It’s a great tool for the kids, but I also remind them and each person I visit with that they are really just exploring right now. They don’t have to graduate with a concrete decision because that decision is likely to change!”
CTE Director John Anderson praised the work of our CCCs. “Everything we do as a school district focuses on and culminates in preparing students to enter the workforce ... The Career Center Coordinator is critical [because] they help students explore options, expand their understanding of college and career pathways, engage in specific pathways, and empower themselves for success beyond high school.”
Position: Bus Driver (Transportation Department)
Stephan Madsen has driven buses for CCSD for 20 years. He is one of 175 bus drivers for the Transportation Department and serves the Newton/Cache Junction area.
“I only have one biological grandchild,” he said, “but I also have a couple hundred adopted grandchildren that I drive to and from school every day.”
Stephan says the best part of being a bus driver is the interactions with the children. “Bus drivers get to build connections with students and families. When I drive, I feel like I can make a difference for the students who need a friendly face that day.”
CCSD Transportation Supervisor Wayne Reese is very proud of his bus drivers.
“There’s a reason why riding a school bus is the safest way to get to school and back home each day,” he said. “The reason is our bus drivers. Most of what we (our department) do is to support our excellent bus drivers.”
Position: Payroll Manager (Business Department)
Martie Smith is the Payroll Manager for Cache County School District, a position she’s occupied for 20 years. CCSD’s payroll team is responsible for ensuring that school secretaries and other district personnel receive all needed information to pay employees in a timely manner. Martie and her assistant, Tori Hillyard, oversee the entire district's payroll and “walk the bridge” between the Human Resources and Business Departments.
“Communication (between departments) is so important,” she said.
The payroll team facilitates the onboarding and termination payroll processes, which involve a great deal of inter-department collaboration.
Her supervisor, Business Administrator Jared Black, says that the payroll team is central to the functioning of the district.
“Martie ensures that everyone gets paid,” he said. “It’s a huge responsibility. She manages the accounts of over 3,000 employees.”
Martie isn’t in it for the money, however.
“The best part of my job is the people I work with,” Smith said. “I love them all - the school secretaries, all of the people here at the district office, they are just fabulous.”
