School administrators, Board of Education members, city officials and representatives from the Irvine Public Schools Foundation will shadow a custodian, a grounds worker, a warehouse driver, a health clerk and dozens of other classified staff during the Irvine Unified School District’s third annual Appreciating Classified Employees (ACE) Day on Thursday, May 6. Established by the California School Employees Association to recognize and celebrate the efforts of classified workers, the ACE program was first piloted in 2007 at three school districts in California. In 2008 and 2009, CSEA’s Chapter 517 collaborated with IUSD to bring this unique job-shadowing program to Irvine, allowing principals, Board members and district-level administrators to witness first-hand the hard work that classified employees perform each day to support students. IUSD Board President Sharon Wallin and trustees Gavin Huntley-Fenner and Sue Kuwabara are scheduled to take part this year, as are Superintendent Gwen Gross, City of Irvine Mayor Pro Tem Larry Agran and Councilmember Beth Krom. A luncheon will follow, giving participants an opportunity to share their experiences. ACE Day is one of several local events scheduled to take place in conjunction with Classified School Employee Week, which will be recognized statewide May 16-22.