Classified school employees often enter the profession in part-time or limited positions and work their way up the leadership ladder. Such is the case with ACSA’s 2010 Classified Manager of the Year Teresa Kapellas, manager of business administration and charter schools for the Alameda County Office of Education.
Kapellas began working in education in 1990 when she was raising three small children. School jobs provided the same schedule as her kids, and were a way she could stay connected and involved in their learning.
Kapellas began her career climb as a secretary in special education, then an office manager at a middle school. As she grew in her own learning experience, she moved to the Alameda COE to work in human resources and was promoted to a supervisory position in business administration in 2002. She landed her current position in 2005.
When her last child graduated from high school, she continued her own education, earning a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of San Francisco in 2007.
“I think working in the different areas of education has provided me with the unique ability to see things in various perspectives,” Kapellas said.
Indeed, her strength lies in an ability to create strong relationships and solve issues before they become problems. She directly supports Associate Superintendent for Business Services Carlene Naylor, including creating, developing and reviewing everything from intricate contracts to staff reports before they go to cabinet or the county board for approval.
“Teresa is a dynamic leader in our organization who is highly respected and valued,” Naylor said. “She is known for her willingness to tackle any project or request, and is always willing to assist others. She has set standards for quality customer service practices.”
Kapellas provides the glue that connects the four major departments within business services: information technology, internal business, external business and graphic communications. In addition, her most recent success has been creating a charter school department.
Her innovative approach to charters includes establishing an effective petition process for the county and providing valuable guidance to school districts. As a leader in the field, she collaborates with others across the state in developing best practices in this relatively new area.
Knowing that her attitude and actions have a direct affect on others is a motivating factor for Kapellas.
“One of the things I love is mentoring others and helping them find their path,” she said. “It’s not something in my official job description, but I am blessed when I can help people find solutions.”
For example, she recently received an email from a friend in another county asking for feed-back on a spread-sheet she had developed that would help districts calculate their in-lieu taxes. Kapellas acknowledges it can be difficult to find time to respond to colleagues, but she was able to collect feedback in her office and get back to the friend in between doing other things.
“She was so appreciative,” Kapellas said. “In addition, her reaching out in collaboration gave us a tool we can use to support our districts as well. I suppose it’s those types of everyday little things that put the joy in what I do.”
Likewise the challenges brought on by the state’s recent fiscal crisis have become personal to Kapellas.
“I think my most recent challenge is the same faced by many in public education – dealing with the uncertainty of next year’s funding for programs and services, and in some cases, doing more with less,” she said. “There has been a silent tension percolating throughout the office as friends and colleagues have lost their jobs, and questions circulate of who will do ‘this’ or ‘that’ now. Needless to say, everyone has had either a friend or knows someone who has lost a job.”
And ACSA has served as solace along the way.
“It’s the people involved in ACSA who have made my journey a success,” Kapellas said. “The encouragement and mentoring by several ACSA members throughout the years have enabled me to step out of my comfort zone and into various leadership opportunities.”
In fact, she just recently began service as ACSA Region 6 president. She has also served on the state ACSA Business Services Council and as R-6 comptroller since 2005.
“As a classified employee, getting involved with our region’s Executive Committee has also allowed me to network with some awesome certificated people I would never have otherwise met,” Kapellas said. “I’ve never been one to believe that success should be defined by one’s title or position, but by one’s actions. The members in my region epitomize this as evidenced by the many successful projects we’ve been able to provide.”
In addition to her work for Alameda County, Kapellas’ commitment to children extends to volunteer activities, including using vacation time to serve orphaned children in such locations as Ecuador and Kenya.
Kapellas will be formally honored along with ACSA’s other Administrator of the Year Award recipients at the Leadership Summit, Nov. 4-6 in San Diego. To register for the Leadership Summit, call the ACSA Educational Services Department at (800) 608-ACSA or click here.