By Daniel Langhorne
An Aliso Viejo Middle School student guidance technician recently was honored in Sacramento by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond as one of nine 2022 California Classified School Employees of the Year.
Sheri Saladow, who has worked in her current role with Capistrano Unified students and parents for 18 years, was spotlighted for advocacy on behalf of English language learners and students with disabilities.
“To get the state [award] was unbelievable. I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe right now. There are so many people doing amazing things so for them to choose me is surreal,” Saladow said.
In March, Saladow was named the 2022 Orange County Classified School Employee of the Year in the Health and Human Services category. Her commitment to providing a safe, equitable learning environment for all students was tested by the pandemic.
“Sheri Saladow is a shining example of the exemplary work that classified employees do every day across the District. Her compassion for her students is inspirational, there is no counting the number of lives she has positively impacted during her career. On behalf of all of CUSD, I offer the most heartfelt congratulations for this tremendous honor,” Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte said.
During the early months of the pandemic, she spent a lot of time on the phone with parents and trying to get them to put their children on the phone so they could talk through why they’d been absent from their Google Meet classes.
She was persistent in connecting with the students struggling with their academics during the unprecedented restrictions forced by COVID-19.
“This was hard for all the kids and the adults,” she said.
She also coordinated weekly Thursday meetings with a group of special education students where they could see each other’s smiling faces on a screen and laugh together.
As someone who keeps a journal, Saladow encouraged her students to jot down stories from their own pandemic experiences.
“I said, ‘write down how you’re feeling about all of this because you’re going to be more than a footnote in the history books. You’re going to be telling your kids and grandkids what it was like to be in school one day and not the other,’” Saladow said.
She strongly believes in how journaling can help people, including children, get their feelings out.
“I don’t remember anything like this in my lifetime. I was telling a parent I remember the fall of Saigon like it was yesterday,” Saladow said.
CUSD is a family that cares about their students, Saladow said, adding that it would have been impossible for her to get the state award without her colleagues.
Saladow’s education career started as a para-education professional. She’s also a former president of the district-wide Parent Teacher Student Association.
“I’m fortunate that I can go to work every day doing something I love and hopefully make a difference in someone’s life,” Saladow said. “Not many people get to say that. I really believe in public education. It’s the backbone of our society and we need to do better by it.”
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