Back-to-School is Forever

The last few weeks, one campus after another has been welcoming its students in for a new year. The scramble has kept many of you busy, whether it’s getting your kindergartners their first little backpacks, moving kids into their dorms, or anything in between.  

The back-to-school buzz is in the air. It’s hard to leave the beach and long days behind, but the chance to learn new things is pretty exciting.

And it’s not just exciting, but essential at the County. We talk a lot here about continuous improvement. Pushing ourselves to the next level. We can’t do that unless we’re constantly learning. New skills, new strategies. From our co-workers, from other agencies.

Because we know how important it is to keep absorbing knowledge, the County makes quite a variety of opportunities available to employees.  

The big one is the Learning Management System, our own online County university of sorts. If you’ve only visited when you have to, you may not be aware of just how much you can do there. There are thousands of modules on everything from Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint to career advancement topics like interviewing skills and resume writing to tips on handling stress. There are even some of the TED Talk videos I’ve invited employees to watch with me.

Scroll down the LMS home page, and you’ll see a catalog of topics you can browse. Some are specific to your department. New modules are being added all the time.

One thing you always ask people in school: What’s your favorite subject? One that’s near and dear to me is financial literacy. We work here because we want to make the County a better place. There are so many things we want to do, but we have to operate within the limits of our finances. You can’t really understand why the organization does what it does without knowing where the money comes from and where it goes.

That’s why we’ve launched a Financial Literacy course, open to any employee. It gives a basic overview of our finances and budget, and it’s designed for non-financial staff. I was delighted to see our first few were very popular. Another one is planned for this fall, and an online version is in the works so that even more employees can take it.

Then there are some things I wish we didn’t have to spend time on, but it’s important that we do. There is no room for sexual harassment here at the County, and we need to make sure that lesson is clear. As part of our overall harassment prevention efforts, we recently upgraded our training for supervisors. Human Resources staff took some inspiration from TV news magazines and came up with a really engaging training, full of real-world scenarios. It took a lot of work to put together, but the subject is worth every bit of it.

We want to make sure we’re providing all the resources we can to creating the best leaders in the future. For the first time ever, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) took its Institute for Excellence on the road, bringing a series of trainings to the COC. More than 100 employees took courses that got them deep into policy and strategy topics, with 10 employees completing the entire series.  

You’re not limited to what we teach here. The County has two ways to help you pursue education at the college level. Employees can request tuition reimbursement for taking college courses that would help them in their duties here at the County. Make sure you review all the details and check whether your department has funding available before enrolling (Link for DA, Sheriff, SDCERA). And with our Education Partnerships, you can get tuition discounts at National University, University of Phoenix, Ashford University and DeVry University.

I’m mentioning just a little of what’s out there. With all the options, there really is something for everyone. If you’re like me, few things are more satisfying than picking up new knowledge or skills. It’s how we each grow as a person. And it’s how we grow as an organization. If taking advantage of these opportunities can both help your career and help us serve people better, that’s really a win-win.   

I’ll let the wise words of Dr. Suess wrap it up.

County Employee Helps Little Leaguers Achieve Dreams

District 42 Administrator Ernie Lucero (red) stands with Sweetwater Valley Little League players Braiz Ramirez, Levi Mendez and Dante Schmid.

Ernie Lucero and 13 players from Sweetwater Valley Little League (along with a handful of coaches and plenty of family members) just got back from the Little League World Series, where the team of young sluggers took its thrilling run to the competition’s semifinals. Their valiant efforts may not have had them power their way into first place, but Lucero, the District 42 Administrator, is extremely proud nonetheless.

“Even though [they] lost against a good Texas team, in my view, they’re winners. They made it all the way to Williamsport, which is a dream to those who don’t go there. The experience the Sweetwater Valley kids lived in Pennsylvania will forever be etched in their memories,” said Lucero, a supervising investigator with the County Office of Public Defender.

Lucero is the district’s administrator – a volunteer position that oversees nine little leagues in south county and ensures all rules and regulations are followed.

“I have a staff of eight individuals who volunteer their time to help me run the district. These are dedicated people who all share our commitment to better the community through Little League baseball and who also love working with kids,” he said.

Lucero served as President of Eastlake Little League in 2000 and has been in his current volunteer position for about seven years. This is his third time in six years going to Williamsport for the World Series with District 42.

“Each of the three times at Williamsport has been extraordinarily exciting. It all started with the 2009 Park View team. Making it to Williamsport for the Little League World Series wasn’t just a distant dream; they made it a reality. The 2013 Eastlake Little League team reinforced that Williamsport was not out of reach. They became the U.S. champions that year, making us very proud for being the best Little League team in the United States,” Lucero said.

But this past team that made it to the semifinals, the Sweetwater Valley Little League, is the best hitting club Lucero said he’s ever seen.

“If you can believe it, each of the 13 players on the team hit a home run during their run to the World Series. This is incredible!”

One of those players is Lucero’s nephew.

“I’m just happy he was able to experience the magic of playing in Williamsport and being part of the team.”

The three teams that have gone to Williamsport are only about nine miles apart from each other, which Lucero says is unprecedented for teams in the playoffs.

“People ask me how this can be. I tell them it’s the magic of the carne asada fries!”

As for his next trip to Pennsylvania, Lucero thinks it might be sooner rather than later.

“There is another team coming up through the ranks. There might possibly be a fourth District 42 team that makes it to Williamsport.­­­”

A “Welcome Home” celebration is being held for the Sweetwater sluggers at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 3321 Conduit Road in Bonita. Representatives from the County of San Diego and City of Chula Vista will be in attendance as well as Channel 93.3, the Eastlake and Bonita Vista Cheer Squads and the San Diego Padres Pad Squad.