New Haven Staff Member Among State Classified Employees of the Year

From the New Haven Unified School District:

New Haven Unified School District Classified Employee of the Year Celia Raygoza is one of six individuals named California Classified School Employees of the Year, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced last week.

It’s the second time in the six-year history of the state award that a New Haven employee has been selected. Rosa Thompson of Barnard-White Middle School was among the inaugural winners, in 2008.

A New Haven employee since 1971, Ms. Raygoza is known as the “matriarch” of the District’s Migrant Education program. Working out of the New Haven Adult School but serving the entire District, she monitors academic, health and social progress for approximately 100 students, many of whom she has located and recruited through home visits, visits to migrant worksites and contacts with various community organization. She co-runs an after-school tutoring program and is well known in the community for collecting donations of clothing and household items for needy families.

Ms. Raygoza and the five other honorees will be honored at a May 23 luncheon in Sacramento, in conjunction with California’s observance of Classified School Employee Week.