Heritage High School’s Visual and Performing Arts teacher Steve Ernest was honored by the board as the 2009 District Teacher of the Year. Ernest has taught at Heritage since it opened in 2005 and in that short time has worked tirelessly to build the band and choir programs, which now include over 100 student participants.

Ernest lives in Brentwood with his wife Renate and their three children. He spends his spare time hiking, doing anything with his family and participating in local musical groups. When asked about future plans, he said, “I love teaching.” Steve is in the running for the County Teacher of the Year, which will be announced in September. The winner will enter the competition for the California State Teacher of the Year.

After working at Liberty High School for 25 years, Beverly von Krakau was honored as the 2009 Classified Employee of the Year. She has served as the principal’s secretary at Liberty High School for the past 12 years, and was the registrar and SIP secretary before moving to this position.

Friendly to everyone, “Bev” has managed to keep Liberty organized through administrative changes, tremendous growth in enrollment, schedule restructuring, and Smaller Learning Community implementation. When asked about her long career at Liberty, she said, “I can’t believe I’ve been here for 25 years! I love interacting with our wonderful students and staff.”

Outside of work, von Krakau spends time with Bill, her husband of 40 years, her two children and her two grandchildren. She likes to take early morning walks, read, dine out and go camping. Bev looks forward to the pending birth of her third grandchild, and to joining Bill in retirement next year and traveling.