Culinary arts instructor named SCOE’s Teacher of the Year for 2021

When Carissa Jones joined a virtual meeting with Sacramento County Office of Education administrators Thursday, she believed they would be discussing plans for next year’s instruction.

She was quickly surprised with an announcement that she had been named SCOE’s Teacher of the Year for 2021.

Jones is a culinary arts instructor at El Centro Jr./Sr. High School, SCOE’s court school program for people incarcerated in the Sacramento County Youth Detention Facility.

Before joining the staff in April 2019, Jones was an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute in Sacramento, prior to its closing.

Using her expertise as a chef, Jones teaches two sections of the pre-apprenticeship program, with the ultimate goal of having her students enter an apprenticeship in the food industry after their schooling.

“The cool thing about an apprenticeship program is it works on a learn-and-earn model,” Jones said. “It gives the students the opportunity to be earning money while they are learning more.”

Dave Gordon, Sacramento County superintendent of schools, believes that it is Jones’ concern for the future of her students and her creative curriculum that made her stand out to the selection panel, who interviewed many nominees.

Gordon was excited to find out Jones was chosen, seeing her as an exemplary teacher who inspires students who have encountered hardships.

“So many of these kids have been told that they can’t cut it, they can’t do it, they’re failures,” Gordon said. “Someone appears and says, ‘No, no, no. That’s not right. That’s not how it is.’ That’s her.”

Jones uses her class to not only teach cooking, but also to focus on nutrition and career skills.

Prior to pandemic-related closure, the class finished a unit about beans and grains. Aside from product identification and cooking skills, students had to understand how to substitute and modify recipes for more than 25 beans and grains.

The school’s closure due to the coronavirus pandemic created specific issues for El Centro, as the students’ privacy as juvenile inmates prevents virtual instruction. Jones has modified coursework to follow a textbook and packet focusing on career skills.

“It’s been challenging at best, but the upside is that I’ve been able to roll out a career readiness program that not only my students, but all of the students in the facility can take advantage of,” Jones said.

The selection of SCOE’s Teacher of the Year for 2021 was also affected, with the process and announcement of winner done virtually. While there is ordinarily a ceremony and a surprise with balloons, Jones was still surprised and flattered by the Zoom call announcement.

As the winner of this award, Jones will enter a pool of other Sacramento County school districts’ winners in the running for Sacramento County Teacher of the Year for 2021. A statewide process follows for those selected by the county and a nationwide process follows for those selected by the state.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated where Jones worked before joining SCOE. It was the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Sacramento.

This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 1:05 PM.