Resources

Academic Counselor:
Elda Martinez
eldamartinez@stancoe.org
209-238-6640 

• Determines which classes students need to graduate.

• Creates class schedules for the students.

• Assists students with applications for college, financial aid, and scholarships. 

To request the Career Technical Education 2025-2026  Catalog please call 209-238-6604

When is a student too sick for school?

Send me to school if:

• I have mild cold symptoms (i.e., a runny nose, occasional coughing, or slight sore throat) but feel well enough to attend school.
• I have not taken any fever reducing medicine for 24 hours, and I have not had a fever during that time.
• I have not thrown up or had any diarrhea for 24 hours.

Keep me at home if:

• I have a temperature higher than 100.4 degrees.
• I have symptoms of a respiratory illness consisting of persistent cough, thick, colored secretions from the nose and overall look of sickness.
• I am throwing up or have diarrhea. My eyes are pink and crusty.

Recommend calling a doctor if:

• I have a temperature higher than 100.4 degrees, even after taking medicine for more than 2 days.
• I have been throwing up or have had diarrhea for more than 2 days.
• I have had the sniffles for more than a week, and they are not getting better. I have asthma symptoms after using asthma medicine. Call 911 if having trouble breathing after using an inhaler.

Testing is highly recommended to rule out a COVID-19 infection.

Mental Health Counselor:
Tania Zepeda 
tcardenaszepeda@stancoe.org
209-238-6632

• Provides a safe environment and therapeutic relationship with the students to allow open communication.

• Increases positive coping skills and decreases negative coping skills.

• Prevents suicidal attempts and resolves suicidal thoughts.

Mental Health Support 

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.

Things that can impact our Mental Health

• Family & Friends
• Stress 
• Environment
• School & Work 
• Sudden changes in routines 
• Grief and Loss 
• Alcohol or drug use 
• Biological factors 

What can I do to manage my Mental Health? 

• Meditate
• Go for a walk
• Journal
• Exercise
• Practice deep breathing
• Talk to a counselor/therapist

How can I tell if I'm struggling?

• Too much or too little sleep
• Difficulty concentrating
• Lack of motivation
• Under/overeating
• Thoughts of death or dying
• Lack of interest in things that used to be enjoyable
• Wishing to be alone for long periods of time
• Irritability

Coping skills that can be harmful in the long run

• Isolation
• Self-harming behaviors
• Drug and alcohol use
• Risky sexual behaviors
• Negative peer associations

Although you may feel relieved temporarily from these coping skills, they can have a long-lasting negative effect on your mental health. 

Where Can I Go For Help?

At School:

• Administrator: 209-238-6603
• School Counselor: 209-238-6640
• Mental Health Clinician: 209-238-6632
• School Nurse
• Teacher
• Any trusted adult

At Home or in your Community: 

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text "HOME" to 741741
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Plus National Hotline 1-888-843-4564
• The Trevor Project Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386 

Local Police non-emergency numbers

• 209-552-2468- Sheriff's Department
• 209-552-2470- Modesto Police Dept. 

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Hotline 1-800-662-4357 

• Stanislaus County Community Response Team: 209-558-4600
• Stanislaus County Warm Line: 209-558-4600
• Teen Crisis Hotline: 1-800-843-5200
• Regional Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE 

Student Support Advocate
Valerie Murillo
vmurillo@stancoe.org
209-238-6633.

• For students and families with issues such as academic needs, homelessness, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, mental health and related issues.

• Assists pregnant/parenting teens, homeless children, neglected/delinquent and foster youth with services to address education and health needs.

• Serves as a program liaison between participating schools, social service agencies, community organizations, and the business community.

Danger of Synthetic Drugs Memorandum
To: Parents and Guardians of Students in the Stanislaus County of Education Court and Community Schools
From: Scott Kuykendall

Subject: Dangers of Synthetic Drugs

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform and to remind parents and legal guardians of all students in the Stanislaus County Office of Education of the dangers of the illicit use and abuse of synthetic drugs. The illicit use and abuse of synthetic drugs represent an emerging and ongoing public health threat in California. The fentanyl crisis specifically has impacted communities across the state, leading to a sharp increase in fentanyl poisonings and deaths in recent years. This notice aims to address the crisis with a preventative approach, ensuring students and families are educated on the deadly consequences of recreational drug use. A synthetic drug is a drug with properties and effects similar to a known hallucinogen or narcotic but having a slightly altered chemical structure, especially such a drug created to evade existing restrictions against illegal substances. Synthetic drugs include but are not limited to synthetic cannabinoids (“synthetic marijuana,” “spice,” “K2”), methamphetamines, bath salts, and fentanyl. The California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) has expounded on the extreme danger of drugs laced with fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl can be added to other drugs to make them cheaper, more powerful, and more addictive. Illicit fentanyl has been found in many drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, counterfeit pills, and cocaine. Fentanyl mixed with any drug increases the likelihood of a fatal overdose. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to tell if drugs have been laced with fentanyl without additional testing because fentanyl cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted when used as a lacing agent. There is a high risk that social media platforms are being used as a way to market and sell synthetic drugs, including fentanyl. 

Bullying Prevention Training & Resources

visit california department of education for bullying prevention 

2024-2025 Student Accountability Report Card - TEEL at Empire  English | Spanish

2025-2026 Single Plan for Student Achievement Teel School in Empire: English | Spanish

2025-2026 SCOE Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) Annual Notice

The Stanislaus County Office of Education annually notifies our students, employees, parents or guardians of its students, the district advisory committee, school advisory committees, appropriate private school officials, and other interested parties of our Uniform Complaint Procedures process. The Uniform Complaint Procedures Annual Notice is available on our website. We are primarily responsible for compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, including those related to unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying against any protected group, and all programs and activities that are subject to the Uniform Complaint Procedures .

Programs and Activities Subject to the UCP

• Accommodations for Pregnant and Parenting Pupils
• Adult Education
• After School Education and Safety
• Agricultural Career Technical Education
• Career Technical and Technical Education and Career Technical and Technical Training Programs
• Child Care and Development Program
• Compensatory Education
• Consolidated Categorical Aid Programs
• Course Periods without Educational Content

• Discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying against any protected group as identified under California Education Code (EC) sections 200 and 220 and Government Code Section 11135, including any actual or perceived characteristic as set forth in Penal Code Section 422.55, or on the basis of a person’s association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution, as defined in EC Section 210.3, that is funded directly by, or that receives or benefits from, any state financial assistance.

• Educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families, pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district, pupils who are migratory, and pupils participating in a newcomer program.

• Every Student Succeeds Act 

• Instructional Materials and Curriculum Diversity

• Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP)

•  Migrant Education

•  Physical Education Instructional Minutes

•  Pupil Fees

• Reasonable Accommodations to a Lactating Pupil

• Regional Occupational Centers and Programs

• School Plans for Student Achievement

•   Schoolsite Councils

•  State Preschool

• State Preschool Health and Safety Issues in LEAs Exempt from Licensing

• And any other state or federal educational program the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) or designee deems appropriate

Filing a Uniform Complaint Procedure

A UCP complaint shall be filed no later than one year from the date the alleged violation occurred. For complaints relating to Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP), the date of the alleged violation is the date when the reviewing authority approves the LCAP or annual update that was adopted by our agency. A pupil enrolled in any of our public schools shall not be required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an educational activity.  A pupil fee complaint may be filed with the principal of a school or our superintendent or their designee. A pupil fee or LCAP complaint may be filed anonymously, that is, without an identifying signature, if the complainant provides evidence or information leading to evidence to support an allegation of noncompliance. 

Contact Information 

Complaints within the scope of the Uniform Complaint Procedure are to be filed with the person responsible for processing complaints:

Mike Berhorst

Assistant Superintendent – Human Resources Stanislaus County Office of Education – Administration

1100 H Street – Modesto, CA. 95354

209-238-1600

mberhorst@stancoe.org

The above contact is knowledgeable about the laws and programs that they are assigned to investigate for Stanislaus County Office of Education.

Responsibilities of the Stanislaus County Office of Education 

We shall post a standardized notice, in addition to this notice, with educational and graduation requirements for pupils in foster care, pupils who are homeless, pupils from military families, pupils formerly in Juvenile Court now enrolled in a school district, pupils who are migratory, and pupils participating in a newcomer program. We advise complainants of the opportunity to appeal an Investigation Report of complaints regarding programs within the scope of the UCP to the California Department of Education. We advise complainants of civil law remedies, including injunctions, restraining orders, or other remedies or orders that may be available under state or federal discrimination, harassment, intimidation or bullying laws, if applicable. Copies of our UCP procedures shall be available free of charge.

For Uniform Complaint Procedures Complaints Regarding State Preschool Health and Safety Issues Pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the California Health and Safety Code 

In order to identify appropriate subjects of state preschool health and safety issues pursuant to Section 1596.7925 of the California Health and Safety Code (HSC) a notice shall be posted in each California state preschool program classroom in each school in our agency. The notice is in addition to this Uniform Complaint Procedure annual notice and addresses parents, guardians, pupils, and teachers of (1) the health and safety requirements under California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR) that apply to California state preschool programs pursuant to HSC Section 1596.7925, and (2) the location at which to obtain a form to file a complaint.