Ceres Unified School District employees Scott Siegel, Dallas Plaa, Kristi Britton, Amy Dunn and Sarah Olson will be recognized at the Association of California School Administrators Region 7 Awards Banquet Thursday in Lake Tahoe.

Siegel, CUSD’s superintendent, has been named ACSA’s “Professor of Education of the Year.”

“It’s humbling,” said Siegel, who is being honored for his work as an adjunct professor at Stanislaus State. “There’s a part of me that prefers not to get the award. There are lots of deserving people out there.”

Plaa, coordinator of Education Options for Ceres Unified, was named “Adult Education Administrator of the Year.”

Britton, director of Special Education, was named ”Special Education Administrator of the Year.”

Dunn, assistant principal at Ceres High School, was named “Secondary Co-Administrator of the Year.”

Olson, principal at Whitmore Charter Schools, was named “Technology Administrator of the Year.”

“They’re all very deserving,” commented Siegel. 

Siegel has been teaching at Stanislaus State since 2012.

“Once a year, I teach a semester course on fiscal and human resources. It’s part of the education administration program. I enjoy it. The students have been fantastic over the years.”

Siegel has been honored by ACSA in the past. He won the Region 7 Superintendent of the Year award in 2015. He was named Business Services Administrator of the Year for the state and region in 2009.

Siegel was named Stanislaus County “Teacher of the Year in 1997” when he was teaching math and science at Ceres High School.

“There has always been a team around me that’s equally or more deserving,” he said. 

“I’ve known him (Siegel) for 30 years,” said CUSD Assistant Supt. Jay Simmonds. “He has the uncanny ability to understand all the different details while maintaining his vision on the big picture of academic success for all students. His efforts have improved the quality of administrators we have in the district. He’s one of the brightest men I know. He also has great integrity.”