One of the phrases I hear with some frequency is “it could only happen at SETA.” While the intent may vary on why people say it. I wanted to point out something that I have only observed at SETA. I have lost track the of the number of staff that started as clients. While I do not know all of their backgrounds or how they travelled from point A to point B, I do believe they all share somethings in common. The share the ability to work hard, put others first, show compassion, and operate from a place of understanding for the people we serve.
They serve as a reminder of a core “only at SETA” value of putting others first. Here are some more examples of SETA core values at work:
Ellen Fransz visited La Verne Stewart this morning (Friday, February 27). Upon entering the classroom, she was warmly greeted by the students in the AM Class. Site Supervisor David Nguyen and Associate Teacher Sau (Lan) Ng were busy teaching and supervising the energetic class, however, she was able to meet with Lead Teacher, Terry Chunn. Terry confirmed that other than David and Sau, the site’s other staff included Erika Davis, Family Service Worker, and Noemy Serrano, Associate Teacher who assisted Terry with the PM class. Ronald Dent, Social Services Specialist, also provides services to the site based on the Teaching Pyramid, a positive behavior support plan.
The site serves 40 children from diverse backgrounds. Terry mentioned the best part about working at this site was the team work. Staff helped each other out during breaks and covered each other for various activities. The small team dynamics works! Terry also expressed enthusiasm for an upcoming field trip to visit a local elementary school which the entire site will participate in. Fourteen children this year will be transitioning to kindergarten, a third of the students.
In the short time Ellen was able to meet with David Nguyen, she was greatly impressed with his enthusiasm, creativity, and “hands on” approach to learning. The theme for this month is “Construction” and it was delightful to see the various animals the children constructed from recyclable materials as well as a fairytale castle. Thank you La Verne Stewart staff for continuing to enrich the lives of Head Start children and their families.
On February 10, 2015, Bonnie BIlger visited the Vineland Head Start center. The rural atmosphere around Vineland makes it a unique Sacramento Head Start center. She went for walks around the playground with Terracina, Marisol, and Cher and really enjoyed having some time to visit with each of them. Bonnie left as the children were arriving for the afternoon class and was invited to come back and visit when class is in session.
On February 25, 2015 Bonnie visited the Elkhorn Head Start. Megan gave her a tour of the site and introduced Bonnie to all of the staff, who were busy with the children outside on the playground. She had the opportunity to provide some employees with information about retirement and also about our hiring processes. Since she was there for the lunch hour she was able to see Elkhorn’s hard working parent volunteers. The site was a busy and happy place. Thank you to Megan, Margarita, Joyce, Mary, Estela, Penny, Rhonda, Annabel, Jennifer, Sue, Lori, Deborah, Patricia, Rhonda and Shikara (and Iliana who was there from Vineland) for your hospitality.
I had the chance to visit Mark Sander Job and Training Center this week. This site is operated as a partnership with EDD and SETA. Ginger (the site supervisor) had a lot of great things to say about her team. According to her Chan and Paul have been great additions to the team. They hit the ground running. They have been working out very well. Al has built a great relationship with EDD to bring more employer events to the center. Zachary has been doing a great job as the lead worker filling in when Ginger is not there. Lisa has been here a long time and has a lot of historical knowledge for the site. Lisa provides a lot of technical assistance. Kevin is the liaison with Asian Resources, he goes out there every Tuesday to work with the customers, he is the link between the training center and the work center. Kevin has also trained the EDD staff on some our SETA processes (e.g. how to enroll people in SacWorks.) Kevin recently competed a special project comparing SacWorks to CalJobs. Bottom line Ginger has good things to say about all of them. Thank you Zachary, Kevin, Lisa, Chan, Joyce, and Paul!
All these people putting the needs of others first. Lives being changed….only at SETA.
Respectfully,
John Allen
HR Chief
