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EDCOE Team Member Spotlight - Sheila Silan
09:50 AM - July 20, 2021
Briefly describe your background (where you grew up, family, why you came to work for EDCOE).
I grew up all over the country, but mostly in California. For university, I started at UCLA and found it too big, then moved to UC Davis and found it too small. I ended up landing at UC Santa Barbara, and it was just right for me. Outside of my schooling there, I ended up working weekends at a psychiatric hospital. In 1988 I came to El Dorado County to co-found Sierra Boys Ranch, a residential and day treatment program. I was able to use my experience there to transition into leading my two programs here at EDCOE. I love what I am doing here, and EDCOE has given me an opportunity to do meaningful work in El Dorado County for which I am grateful. I have also been a foster parent for many decades with many, many foster children. I recently adopted my adult daughter.
What is your department, title, and how long have you worked for EDCOE?
I am the Program Coordinator for the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) and Foster Youth Services (FYS), under the department of Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability (CI&A). I have been with EDCOE for 23 years. I started in 1998 as an independent contractor and have been full time with EDCOE for the past 12 years.
Describe how your role helps support programs/schools/students directly or indirectly.
FYS serves all foster youth living in El Dorado County with direct and indirect linkages. I am co-located at CPS to ensure that Foster Youth Education mandates and best practices are known and understood by schools and partner agencies. SARB is a legal process that intervenes in truancy and chronic absenteeism for every school and district in El Dorado County by linking families to local services and problem-solving complex attendance issues. Ultimately, parents can end up in court and/or adolescents can be out on Probation if these attendance issues persist despite our intervention.
What are you and your team doing to support education during COVID-19?
COVID-19 and the shutdown were extremely challenging for both my programs. Attendance tracking and legal intervention had to be completely re-imagined. Major public agencies that participate in SARB had to sign off on a revised pandemic plan. We found out recently that our county was one of the few SARBs who continued to actively intervene with these attendance cases throughout the shutdown. For FYS, the challenges that caregivers and foster youth had with online distance learning were equally frustrating and difficult for all parties involved. FYS quickly surveyed all caregivers in the county to modify supports and services for online distance learning and social emotional issues stemming from the pandemic.
What do you most appreciate about your department/team?
My team is highly dedicated and strives to keep our mission at the forefront of all we do. I am proud to have them on my team.
What is your proudest moment at EDCOE? Why?
I am most proud of the creation of a new program that I hope will continue even after I am gone. About six years ago, I created the Foster Youth Summer Employment Program which is a unique opportunity for foster youth and involves the efforts and funds of numerous public and nonprofit agencies across the western slope. Having been a foster parent for 32 years, one of the biggest challenges living in rural El Dorado County is enabling foster youth to have work experience, which we all know is important for their employability. Most foster youth either cannot or do not drive, thus getting to employment in the corridor area were they are most likely to be hired was not possible. Creating a program that puts foster youth in the workforce for 30 hours per week for 6 weeks and a week-long soft skills certification has not only enabled them to be active members of the workforce and become more connected to the community, but also have the possibility to purchase a car.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to read. I take my pit bulls on hikes and to the beach when we are not hanging out around the house. I also like to watch Judge Judy for the entertainment and occasional legal advice.
What is something many people may not know about you?
I was a religious studies major in undergrad and lived in Holland in the 80s.
If you could meet anyone in the world, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
My grandmother, Bozana. She came to this country from Macedonia as a teenager to marry my grandfather. I was never able to meet her because she died before I was born.
From supervisor, Gabrielle Marchini, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Accountability:
Sheila Silan is one of the most dedicated, passionate, and driven professionals that I have ever worked with. She cares deeply about our students and intently works to provide the many supports that our foster and other at-risk youth need while still holding the expectation that they will be responsible and forward-thinking in terms of their future as they progress through school. I know that many of us have heard the proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” Sheila has nurtured relationships across multiple agencies in our county to provide the structure for the village that is now present and still growing in El Dorado County. We are so grateful to have Sheila as part of our team!