Cloverland Elementary School instructional aide Anita Theiler is in the running for statewide recognition.
This year, the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Region VII partnered to honor outstanding classified (non-supervisory) education employees in Stanislaus County. Called “Employees Making a Difference,” school districts throughout the county selected their own honorees and forwarded nominations to SCOE. A total of 22 outstanding classified staff members were honored at a special reception on Monday, Jan. 14, at the Martin G. Petersen Event Center, and six honorees were selected to represent Stanislaus County in the California Department of Education’s statewide recognition program. The six representatives (one from each work-category) announced were: Anita Theiler, Cloverland Elementary of Oakdale Unified, Para-Educator & Instructional Aide category; Brigid Olson, Somerset Middle School of Sylvan Union District, Child Nutrition category; Vernon Wheeland, Ceres Unified School District, Maintenance/Operations category; Jeanine Sique, Waterford Unified School District, Support/Security Services category; Lorena Rodriguez-Daniel, Empire Union School of Empire Union School District, Office & Technical category; and Cheryl Galvan, Riverbank Unified School District, Transportation category.
Theiler has worked for 44 years as an instructional aide and has been in her current position as an aide in a Special Day Classroom for more than 20 years. Currently, she is working at Cloverland Elementary School in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District. She is an unsung hero, assisting students with their Science Fair projects, supporting them in the classroom, chaperoning on field trips, or providing a listening ear and a compassionate shoulder for students who need them. She ensures that students have coats, toothbrushes, food to eat, and money for camp. According to her nomination, Theiler makes a difference, even though she mistakenly says, “I am just doing my part.”
It was also announced at the reception that Kathy King of Chatom Preschool, of Chatom Union School District, is the recipient of the third annual Jane Johnston Civility Award for exemplifying the principles of civility both at work and in her personal life.
