The character of an organization can be judged by the caliber of its people.
Our drive to be a world-class school district is evidenced in our 10,000 students. Let me introduce you to one of them: Exiting Calavera Hills Middle School eighth-grader Ayrton Lopez. Lopez, 14, personifies our district's mission. While excelling on his own, he helps other students achieve and serves as a role model for his peers and siblings.
In the spring, Lopez hit a home run when he became one of only 15 middle school students countywide selected as a San Diego Padres Scholar. In addition to the thrill of being recognized at a ceremony and a Padres game, Lopez will receive a $7,000 college scholarship.
The Padres Scholar program was created by the team in conjunction with the San Diego County Office of Education to recognize outstanding Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, students who excel academically and participate in community service and extracurricular activities.
Lopez was nominated by his AVID teacher, Nina Amatore, who praises him as “positive, energetic and caring.”
“Ayrton possesses all the qualities of an ideal AVID student,” Amatore said. “He is a leader in class, volunteers after school and tutors younger students in reading and math.”
Lopez said he considers his mother to be his role model.
“She has worked hard while raising my younger sister, brother and me. She is in college now, working on a degree in child development,” he said.
Lopez intends to attend the University of California, San Diego and double-major in drafting and architecture.
“I'll work for a company for a few years before I go off on my own. I'll need to get a business degree, too, so that I can achieve all of this,” Lopez said.
Goal-oriented students like Lopez, who surmount obstacles and strive to be the architects of their future, make me proud to be an educator, and even more proud to be the superintendent of the Carlsbad Unified School District.
CUSD’s mission statement:
The mission of the Carlsbad Unified School District, a global community of learners, is to guarantee that our students flourish in life as enthusiastic, confident learners through a world-class educational system characterized by vigorous personalized curriculum, dedicated teaching and total community involvement.
Our drive to be a world-class school district is evidenced in our 10,000 students. Let me introduce you to one of them: Exiting Calavera Hills Middle School eighth-grader Ayrton Lopez. Lopez, 14, personifies our district's mission. While excelling on his own, he helps other students achieve and serves as a role model for his peers and siblings.
In the spring, Lopez hit a home run when he became one of only 15 middle school students countywide selected as a San Diego Padres Scholar. In addition to the thrill of being recognized at a ceremony and a Padres game, Lopez will receive a $7,000 college scholarship.
The Padres Scholar program was created by the team in conjunction with the San Diego County Office of Education to recognize outstanding Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, students who excel academically and participate in community service and extracurricular activities.
Lopez was nominated by his AVID teacher, Nina Amatore, who praises him as “positive, energetic and caring.”
“Ayrton possesses all the qualities of an ideal AVID student,” Amatore said. “He is a leader in class, volunteers after school and tutors younger students in reading and math.”
Lopez said he considers his mother to be his role model.
“She has worked hard while raising my younger sister, brother and me. She is in college now, working on a degree in child development,” he said.
Lopez intends to attend the University of California, San Diego and double-major in drafting and architecture.
“I'll work for a company for a few years before I go off on my own. I'll need to get a business degree, too, so that I can achieve all of this,” Lopez said.
Goal-oriented students like Lopez, who surmount obstacles and strive to be the architects of their future, make me proud to be an educator, and even more proud to be the superintendent of the Carlsbad Unified School District.
CUSD’s mission statement:
The mission of the Carlsbad Unified School District, a global community of learners, is to guarantee that our students flourish in life as enthusiastic, confident learners through a world-class educational system characterized by vigorous personalized curriculum, dedicated teaching and total community involvement.