Classified Employees of the Year 2008-09 :: San Diego Unified School District

Classified Employees of the Year 2008-09: Arthur Marx and Linda Ridgeway.

Overview
The California Legislature passed a resolution in 1985 honoring the role of classified school employees. With the passage of Senate Bill 1552 in 1986, Classified School Employee Week became an annual event designated by law during the third full week of every May.

Classified employees have cared for generations of students in San Diego and across the nation. These caring, committed professionals keep schools running by performing essential jobs that help students learn. They include our administrative and clerical support staff, custodians, bus drivers, food service professionals, maintenance technicians, landscape technicians and many more. They also include employees who may not work directly at school sites, but at the central office and other facilities. From employees in accounting operations to mail and printing services, the contributions of classified employees throughout the district provide the foundation for making our schools, offices and facilities operate efficiently, effectively and safely.

The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education is proud to recognize the more than 7,100 classified employees in the district during this year’s Classified School Employee Week , May 18–24, 2008. This years Classified Employees of the Year are Linda Ridgeway and Arthur Marx.

Classified Woman of the Year
Linda Ridgeway – Clerk Typist 1, Chesterton Elementary School
View her video

Linda Ridgeway, Classified Woman of the Year Classified Woman of the Year Linda Ridgeway has been a member of the school community at Chesterton for more than 26 years; nearly 24 years as an employee.

Her grown children attended the Linda Vista school and her grandchildren are now proud Chesterton Cheetahs.

“I really like working with the kids,” said Linda, who said she was “shocked” when she was told that she was the 2008 Classified Woman of the Year. “I was speechless that day because I didn’t know what was going on.”

Scheduled to retire this year, Linda spends more time at the school “off the clock” than her three hours a day as a Clerk Typist I. She arrives around 7 a.m. to help principal Jean Richmond start the day. Her shift begins after 8 a.m., working copy production, acting as volunteer coordinator, supervising on the playground and handling “other duties as assigned.”

Her paid day ends around 2 p.m., but she doesn’t scamper home from Chesterton right away.

“My grandkids are here, so I’ll just stay here and help out,” she said. A longtime member of the school’s PTA, her after-hours duties include selling ice cream on Fridays.

“Many hours are dedicated to fundraisers, school carnivals and fifth grade activities,” wrote teacher Jennifer Fortune in Linda’s nomination petition. “She provides direction and leadership for parents and volunteers.”

And that volunteer service extends in many directions.

“She also provides day care service for many of parent meetings/in-services,” wrote Jan Kosaka, Chesterton’s School Secretary. “Her support of these projects for our parents (many times after her normal work hours) is also important and priceless.” First grade teacher Tracy King wrote Linda is “dedicated and goes beyond the call” of duty.

“She ‘takes off running’ the moment she hits our campus,” wrote King. “She does all of this with a smile on her face. She makes our lives here at Chesterton better.”

Classified Man of the Year
Arthur Marx – Classroom Assistant, Miller Elementary
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Arthur Marx, Classified Man of the Year For Arthur Marx, rewards come from the unique military community at Miller Elementary and when he can “watch the light bulb come on” with one of his special education students.

Now in his fourth year as a Classroom Assistant at the Murphy Canyon neighborhood school, “Mr. Art” works as an assistant to Physical Education prep teacher Patrick Ricci. He also acts as the on-site technician for the school’s computer system.

“I get the satisfaction of knowing that I’m helping kids,” said Marx. “When I see that light bulb come on, it just makes my day.” That satisfaction extends to his home life, where, in his spare time, he works with the cross-country and track coaches at his sons’ school, Mount Miguel High School in Spring Valley.

“Art does all the physical things I cannot do because I am a quadriplegic,” wrote Ricci in the nomination petition for Classified Employee Man of the Year. “Performing all the physical things I cannot do does not even start to tell the story of how valuable he is to the students, teachers and me at Miller.”

Teacher Sue Edelstein said “Mr. Art” is the “go-to guy for campus computer problems, “which is often,” she wrote.

“Each and every time, Art is there to help very quickly and is always polite and professional. He never makes one feel as computer-challenged as they may actually be.” Edelstein also said his position with the PE department makes him known – and have a positive influence on – every student at Miller.

“He is very visible member of our school community and positive role model for all of our students,” she wrote, “especially our upper-grade boys, who need this sort of male presence in their lives.”

Teacher Christine Estioco called Mr. Art the “glue to this staff and to this school,” in his nomination petition.

“He is a person who carries and delivers the qualities of an exceptional staff member. He is diligent, driven punctual, responsible, and just really cares about our staff, the programs we have here, and most importantly, our students.”

Contact Information
Gloria Rangel
Senior Personnel Clerk
Human Resource Services Division
(619) 725-8172
grangel@sandi.net