Sally Ann is the glue that holds the CAPIT together. She is
extremely supportive, helping answer the myriad questions of
team members who are often out of the building. She is the
person her colleagues call in a pinch when they need
something done. Our resident expert on FM (Finance Manager)
she makes sure our supplies are ordered and our bills are
paid. She always makes the youth and adults we work with in
the community feel welcome and appreciated. Pleasant and
dedicated, our team would find life much harder without
Sallie Ann.
Wendy continues to place students in STEP (Short Term
Educational Program) first with her strong commitment to
addressing each individual student’s needs. If a question or
perplexing problem arises, Wendy is unyielding until she
finds the answer or solution. At the end of the day, if her
students have succeeded on any level, she feels rewarded. If
they haven’t, she doesn’t give up—she tries alternative
methods to help create success.
As a graphic designer in addition to being extremely
creative, Bonnie has demonstrated a tireless dedication to
her work and to the school districts the Communications team
serves. She recently helped a team member create a digital
video on a three-day deadline for a school district. A
series of technical glitches -- including a hard drive
failure on a Friday afternoon -- put the entire project in
jeopardy. Rather than give up, Bonnie invited her colleague
to her home where they worked throughout the weekend (18
hours straight) to recreate the lost work and finish the
project. The result was a low-cost, high-end product that
was delivered on time and far exceeded anyone's
expectations!
Customer Driven:
Dee Mucci
"Wonderful." "Always helpful."
"Responsive." "Efficient."
These are just some of the words that superintendents,
secretaries, principals and teachers have used to describe
Dee. She always goes the extra mile to make sure all
teacher absences are filled. Her ability to
establish relationships and learn the unique needs of each
of our participating school districts, as well as her energy
and enthusiasm continue to make the Substitute Coordination
Service successful.
Supportive: Vicky Schweizer
Vicky’s “can do”
attitude is the absolute backbone of our division. She goes
out of her way to help anyone in every School Support
Services program. She stays late and comes in early to
accomplish tasks. Although she is busy herself, Vicky never
hesitates to drop whatever she’s doing to help others out of
a jam – literally whether it’s a paper jam in the copier or
the postage meter! She is a supportive and positive liaison
with the business office staff and always finds answers to
our questions. In addition, Vicky is forever optimistic and
has a wickedly funny sense of humor!
Creative: Sharon Siegel
Sharon stepped out of her art role this year and used her
creativity to build an entire Access database for the
Substitute Coordination Service — from scratch. She offered
to use her talents to create a way to manage data for the
1,100 substitute teachers in our service. Throughout the
project, she greeted each new request with: “I can do that…
I don’t know how, but I’ll figure it out.” And she would!!
The Substitute Coordination Service is grateful for her
spirit of teamwork, her determination and most of all – her
creativity – that has helped us serve our districts.
Customer Driven: Mark Sullivan
Mark has demonstrated a strong dedication to the Risk
Management program, his school clients and his family during
this past year. While recovering from painful shoulder
surgery, he continued to stay in touch with his clients via
telephone and e-mail. Following his own recovery, Mark’s
wife developed health issues yet he continued to make sure
his clients’ needs were being met, while also attending to
his wife. Mark is to be commended for his commitment to his
schools and dedication to his work throughout this
challenging time.
Dedicated: Shelley Viola
Odyssey of the Mind and the Artist Showcase are team events,
but we depend on Shelley’s dedication to take care of the
details. This year, when the Showcase moved to Cohoes Middle
School, Shelley took a field trip to measure the gym, drew a
scale model complete with electrical outlets, doors, stage,
etc. and then proceeded to arrange and rearrange cutouts of
artist booths, lunch tables and the registration area to
ensure the event would run smoothly. Shelley stays focused,
is incredibly organized and is always committed to a
positive outcome because she says, “it reflects on all of
us.”
2006 STAR Awards Went To...