Get to Know Your District Series: Meet Program Specialist Carrie Weil

1. Description of job and responsibilities:

As a Program Specialist, my job is to support various school sites, their Special Education departments, and mental health programs throughout the district. I travel to the sites, facilitate IEP meetings, provide site support and staff development opportunities, and attend monthly meetings with various service providers.

2. What inspired me to enter this profession?

As a Resource Specialist in the district, I found my passion inworking with students with special needs. I want to continue to work in this field while focusing on mental health concerns and providing support to teachers.

3. What is your professional goal?

My goal is continue to work as a Special Education administrator in the district and perhaps continue my education by getting my doctorate in Special Education.

4. What do you like best about your job?

I enjoy visiting school sites and working with teachers and staff to ensure that the needs of all our students are met.

5. If you could change anything about your job/services you provide,what would it be?

I love working in education and I hope that it becomes a priority in our state. We need to invest more in our children's education to ensure that they become happy, healthy, and productive members of society.

6. What is your contact information?

Phone: (925) 628-3104

Email: weilc@mdusd.k12.ca.us

Get to Know Your District Series: Meet Program Specialist Samantha Espinosa

1. Description of the job and responsibilities:

Samantha Espinosa is Program Specialist, Bridge Program Administrator and Workability Coordinator.

Program Specialists role is to help support site staff with problematic situations, facilitate communication between site and district, answer questions or find answers. As Bridge Administrator Samantha supervises staff of the Bridge Program, it is a program for 18 – 22 year old students with severe disabilities. Her role as Workability Coordinator supervises the staff that provide assistance in planning and implementing services leading to successful student transition to employment.

2. What inspired you to work in this profession?

Samantha has always wanted to help others and make a difference, Special Education has provided her many opportunities to do that.

3. What is your professional goal?

To be the best at what I do, to keep growing and learning.

4. What do you like best about your job?

The best part about my job is being able to see the positive effects of my actions on the students, I love to see them smile when it finally clicks or they feel like their needs are being met.

5. If you could change anything about your job/services you provide, what would it be?

Clone myself so I can be in multiple places at once or so I can truly multi-task.

6. What is your contact info?

Phone: (925) 798 – 1299
Email: espinosas@mdusd.k12.ca.us

Meet Sharon Krell

Please describe your job and responsibilities.
You can read my job description HERE. I ’m responsible for CMA trainings/testing in the district and I coordinate and set up and supervise the ESY program by working with personnel and principals to hire needed staff.

What inspired you to work in this profession?
I always wanted to teach, my mother was a teacher, but I didn’t get interested in special education until I took some college classes. One of the most rewarding things for me is to know I made a difference, big or small, in someone’s life. I also feel rewarded when parents take time to say thank you.

What is your professional goal?
Professional goal to me, means something entirely different than to most people. It’s not about being the top administrator somewhere. It’s being professional, maintaining my integrity by being honest, following through on things I say I will do in a timely manner. I work hard to follow through and check back in with people even when I am no longer needed.

What do you like best about your job?
That each day is different. It certainly is never boring or dull. I like to keep busy and my days just fly by.

If you could change anything about your job, what would it be?
I have too much to do and not enough help or time. Ideally, my wish would be to have a secretary for ESY support, and to have 3 more program specialists to assist with the workload. Then I would have time to be at my sites more to get to know students, be in classes and do more in service training.

You can contact Sharon at: krells@mdsud.k12.ca.us or 682-8000x4189 or 348-17577.