On April 20, 2013, the Los Angeles County Bilingual Directors’ Association honored outstanding administrators, classified employees, and parents from Los Angeles County School Districts who exemplify the best in promoting the ideals of bilingual education. The Los Nietos School District administration was proud to congratulate Ada S. Nelson Principal Marla Duncan, and Los Nietos Instructional Support Staff Ana Arellano and Irma Bustamante at the dinner and award ceremony.
Mrs. Marla Duncan has been an educator and student advocate for 16 years and Principal of Ada S. Nelson Elementary School for the past 6 years. She came to education from business after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge and her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Point Loma Nazarene University. Mrs. Duncan says, “My staff and I have worked diligently to implement an enriched and consistent program for English Learners to ensure their academic success. We are dedicated to providing the parents of EL students with opportunities to become involved with decision-making at the school site”. Mrs. Duncan has been an administrator at both middle school and elementary levels before coming to Nelson. She has participated on several district committees focused on improving classroom instruction and increasing academic achievement. She chairs the School Attendance Review Board for 7 districts to support families in making the most of their child’s daily attendance at school. The Los Nietos School District sincerely thanks Mrs. Duncan for her hard work and dedication to our English Learners and their families as an administrative leader!
Mrs. Ana Arellano is the mother of 4 grown children and 2 grown granddaughters, who all proudly attended the Los Nietos School District. For the past 32 years, Mrs. Arellano has served the Los Nietos School District, as the district’s translator and formerly as a bilingual instructional aide. Now, her work supports the parents of our English Learners through translation services for both general education and special education programs. She meets regularly with parents to explain our programs, procedures and possibilities for their child in their primary language and is key to our summer CELDT Institute. Mrs. Arellano reports, “What I likes best about my position is that I am able to help parents to understand the information presented regarding their children and their education, their needs, their rights, and how these are met”. Mrs. Arellano is also a key leader in our CSEA Association and key supporter of our school district programs and events. Through her support and hard work in support of our English Learners and their parents, we are able to better serve our students. The Los Nietos School District thanks Mrs. Ana Arellano for her dedication to all of our English Learners in her role as a classified leader!
Mrs. Irma Bustamante is the mother of two grown children Andre and Steven, and both she and her husband Mark have been actively involved in their education and sports programs. For the past 15 years, Mrs. Bustamante has served the Los Nietos School District as the Information Resource Analyst. In her position, she has developed methods and programs for classroom teachers and administrators to analyze the progress that our English Learners are making towards proficiency targets on CELDT and STAR assessment programs. In addition, Mrs. Bustamante has worked collaboratively with our teacher leaders to coordinate the summer CELDT program to ensure that our EL students miss as little school as possible to accomplish the annual/initial assessments. Mrs. Bustamante reports, “Leaving the corporate world and moving to the public school system 15 years ago was the most rewarding thing I have done. I am here to help our kids!” Through her diligence, technology expertise and support, our English learners are being assessed, analyzed and evaluated to ensure that we provide the best to support powerful teaching and learning for these students. The Los Nietos School District thanks Mrs. Irma Bustamante for her dedication to all of our English Learners in her role as a classified leader!
Mrs. Marla Duncan has been an educator and student advocate for 16 years and Principal of Ada S. Nelson Elementary School for the past 6 years. She came to education from business after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge and her Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Point Loma Nazarene University. Mrs. Duncan says, “My staff and I have worked diligently to implement an enriched and consistent program for English Learners to ensure their academic success. We are dedicated to providing the parents of EL students with opportunities to become involved with decision-making at the school site”. Mrs. Duncan has been an administrator at both middle school and elementary levels before coming to Nelson. She has participated on several district committees focused on improving classroom instruction and increasing academic achievement. She chairs the School Attendance Review Board for 7 districts to support families in making the most of their child’s daily attendance at school. The Los Nietos School District sincerely thanks Mrs. Duncan for her hard work and dedication to our English Learners and their families as an administrative leader!
Mrs. Ana Arellano is the mother of 4 grown children and 2 grown granddaughters, who all proudly attended the Los Nietos School District. For the past 32 years, Mrs. Arellano has served the Los Nietos School District, as the district’s translator and formerly as a bilingual instructional aide. Now, her work supports the parents of our English Learners through translation services for both general education and special education programs. She meets regularly with parents to explain our programs, procedures and possibilities for their child in their primary language and is key to our summer CELDT Institute. Mrs. Arellano reports, “What I likes best about my position is that I am able to help parents to understand the information presented regarding their children and their education, their needs, their rights, and how these are met”. Mrs. Arellano is also a key leader in our CSEA Association and key supporter of our school district programs and events. Through her support and hard work in support of our English Learners and their parents, we are able to better serve our students. The Los Nietos School District thanks Mrs. Ana Arellano for her dedication to all of our English Learners in her role as a classified leader!
Mrs. Irma Bustamante is the mother of two grown children Andre and Steven, and both she and her husband Mark have been actively involved in their education and sports programs. For the past 15 years, Mrs. Bustamante has served the Los Nietos School District as the Information Resource Analyst. In her position, she has developed methods and programs for classroom teachers and administrators to analyze the progress that our English Learners are making towards proficiency targets on CELDT and STAR assessment programs. In addition, Mrs. Bustamante has worked collaboratively with our teacher leaders to coordinate the summer CELDT program to ensure that our EL students miss as little school as possible to accomplish the annual/initial assessments. Mrs. Bustamante reports, “Leaving the corporate world and moving to the public school system 15 years ago was the most rewarding thing I have done. I am here to help our kids!” Through her diligence, technology expertise and support, our English learners are being assessed, analyzed and evaluated to ensure that we provide the best to support powerful teaching and learning for these students. The Los Nietos School District thanks Mrs. Irma Bustamante for her dedication to all of our English Learners in her role as a classified leader!