Pasadena Unified Celebrates Classified School Employees Week

Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) classified school employees were recognized for their service and dedication to area students as part of Classified School Employees Week May 17-23. Classified employees are the backbone of a school district serving in diverse rolls such as instructional aides, front office personnel, custodians and many more essential roles. To better appreciate the work, PUSD administrators and school board members shadowed classified employees as part of the Appreciating Classified Employees (ACE) program.

“The experience of shadowing district classified employees was wonderful and enlightening for me and my fellow

administrators,” said PUSD Superintendent Brian McDonald. “Classified employees bring so much to our schools that help our students thrive and keep our schools safe.”

The ACE program is a collaborative effort between the school district and its classified unions that includes job shadowing of classified school employees by district administrators, principals, board of education members and district level administrators who witness first-hand what custodians, food service workers, paraeducators and other classified employees do on a daily basis. The event built understanding within the district and acknowledged the hard work

classified employees do to take care of students every day.

“Coming together was our beginning, staying together is a process and working together is SUCCESS,” said California School Employees Association (CSEA) Chapter 434 President Rosemarie Riley.

The PUSD Board of Education recently recognized the importance of classified employees to the district by approving a historic agreement with CSEA that brought their medical and dental benefits in line with those of the district’s teachers, resulting in dramatic out of pocket savings to classified employees.

For more information, visit http://www.pusd.us/pages/PasadenaUSD.