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 October
2011 Parent of the Month
Maria del Carmen Mejia, Parent –
Taft Elementary
Nominated by: Dee Johnson,
Principal
Mrs. Mejia volunteers in the
classroom almost daily. Her
children’s education comes first
in everything she does. She is
an active member of School Site
Council, English Language
Advisory Council, and always
asks how she can help connect
with families and bring more
volunteers in to the school.
Mrs. Mejia attended the initial
Parenting Partner’s two day
workshop to jumpstart Taft’s
participation. Her commitment to
her children’s education and the
education of all children is
evident as she listens to all
sides of every situation and
makes sure she has all of the
information about any issue or
concern before drawing
conclusions. She teaches her
children to do the same and
models the behavior she expects.
Mrs. Mejia is a problem solver,
and an idea producer. She thinks
out of the box and maintains a
humble and positive presence in
our Taft School Community. She
prides herself in her
determination to never allow
language to be a barrier to
understanding, or a barrier to
becoming informed. She is
courageous, brave, and fair to
all. She always has a smile on
her face and is the model of
peace demonstrated with grace
and courtesy, a valuable
component of the Montessori
Philosophy.
Mrs. Mejia stated she wants her
children to be proud of her. She
needs to know we are ALL proud
of her! She is truly an asset to
Taft School and SUSD.
Congratulations!
 October
2011 Student of the Month
Maria Munguia-Ochoa, 8th
Grade – Nightingale
Nominated by: Katherine Burns,
Teacher
Maria is currently an eighth
grader at Nightingale Charter
School. Simply put, Maria is an
extraordinary student. She takes
school and learning seriously,
and never hesitates to ask
thought-provoking questions.
Last year as a 7th grader, Maria
earned a perfect score on her
math CST. As a special note this
is not the first time she has
achieved a perfect score.
Maria’s performance in other
subjects is outstanding, too.
And while she is very bright,
she works very hard to earn and
maintain excellent grades. She
studies her own test data to
understand the types of
questions or concepts that
require further study. Maria
constantly strives to improve
her knowledge.
Maria’s love of learning is
infectious. She shows compassion
and patience with peers as she
helps them on their assignments.
Her sense of compassion, her
confidence, and her positive
attitude have established Maria
as a student leader here at
Nightingale.
For the past 3 years, Maria has
been an integral part of the
Nightingale Science Olympiad
team. Last year, she not only
participated, but helped younger
students as they prepared for
competition day. She has also
taken an active role in Student
Council, and has been
spearheading the eighth graders’
efforts to fund raise for an
end-of-year field trip.
For as long as anyone at the
school can remember, Maria talks
about her future in the field of
medicine. This goal is
constantly on her mind, and she
understands the connection
between her elementary education
and her future goals. She sets
an amazing example for all us –
adults and children. We cannot
wait to see her future
accomplishments. Congratulations
Maria!
 October
2011 Classified Employee of the
Month
Ilene Parker – Retired
Executive Assistant II, SUSD Police
Department
Nominated by: Jim West, Chief of
Police
Ilene Parker retired from SUSD
four years ago after doing an
outstanding job under four
Chiefs of Police as the
Executive Assistant. Since
retiring, Ilene has acted as a
substitute Executive Assistant
whenever she was needed. She has
been a regular substitute since.
She trained the last assistant,
who has since retired and also
the current assistant that was
hired in July. She has also
helped out during peak workload
periods in the department. While
at home, Ilene corresponded via
telephone and email to help
ensure the Police Department ran
smoothly whether she was paid or
not.
In retirement, Ilene lives in
Linden with her husband John.
She worked for the district for
39 years starting in 1968 and
retiring in December 2007.
Ilene Parker exemplifies the
generous spirit and caring for
others that is an example to us
all. She was and continues to be
a dedicated employee and we are
thankful for all she has done
during her years with the
district. Congratulations Ilene!
 October
2011 Certificated Employee of
the Month
Olga Castillo, Teacher –
Valenzuela Elementary
Nominated by: Margarito Ortega,
Principal
Mrs. Castillo is a dedicated
teacher who provides tutoring
three to four times per week to
student who needs additional
help in English Language Arts.
She goes above and beyond all
aspects of her profession. Along
with her teaching duties, Mrs.
Castillo also encourages her
students to participate in the
Young Authors Faire. She is
always available to meet with
parents to find ways to help
their children improve their
academic achievement.
Mrs. Castillo has been a teacher
in the Stockton Unified School
District for 39 years and she
has been teaching at Valenzuela
all of her 39 years. It is
obvious she is highly dedicated
to the program at Valenzuela.
Mrs. Olga Castillo lives in
Stockton with her husband,
Hector. They have three children
– Margarita, Angelo and Hector
II. We are very lucky to have
such an outstanding teacher in
SUSD and at Valenzuela.
Congratulations to you, Mrs.
Castillo!
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