Annual Lighthouse Awards given out

Several people and organizations who are leaders in the educational community were honored with the San Diego County Office of Education’s Lighthouse Awards recently.

The SDCOE bestowed the annual awards during a virtual 2021 Equity Conference. The awards honor those who are “beacons” leading others to increase diversity, equity and inclusion.

Award recipients are:

Cox Communications, Equity Champion, Organization: The company’s Connect2compete broadband program is a lowcost Internet service for students and families in need. The service includes initial free months, and helps students do virtual learning while schools are closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Cox also teamed with SDCOE, Computers 2 Kids San Diego, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and San Diego Councilman Chris Cate, District 6, in the Meet the Need computer drive to put more affordable devices into students’ homes.

San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Equity Champion: Fletcher has been the face of the county’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with daily press briefings. He also proposed that part of $2 million in county general fund money go to providing satellite and cable Internet, as well as wireless hotspots to local schools, to make sure everyone has access. More than 4,300 students and their families from 19 different school districts and charter schools in the county received access and stronger Internet connections to help them with distance learning.

Oceanside Unified School District Superintendent Julie Vitale, Equity Champion: Vitale has adopted equity-focused policies and practices that include creating board resolutions that acknowledge OUSD is a safe place for students, regardless of immigration status; ensuring LGBTQ students have safe, supportive spaces on campuses; and supporting the district in adopting an ethnic studies course that reflects local demographics.

Carol Osborne, Turnaround School Leader: Osborne is the associate superintendent of Learning Support Services at Poway Unified School District. She has led implementation of a districtwide Racial Equity and Inclusion Plan. Under her guidance, the district hosted community forums on race-related issues and experiences. Osborne

and her team are working to shift district and school culture, including adding the Anti-defamation League’s No Place for Hate program, introducing ethnic studies, diversifying the curriculum, revising discipline policies to expand restorative justice, and hiring more diverse staff.

Melissa Blitzstein, Turnaround Teacher: Blitzstein is a teacher at the Motivated Youth Academy, a non-classroombased charter school. She familiarizes herself with the social, emotional and academic backgrounds of each of the school’s 170 students and their families. She mentors students in credit recovery, connects them with wrap-around services, and helps with college enrollment, career training, or postgraduation jobs. In the classroom, Blitzstein promotes project-based learning and makes sure that students understand responsibility and accountability. She works to create an environment where students gain self-confidence, learn commitment, express empathy, and experience humility and resiliency.

Luis Lopez, Turnaround Support Staff: Lopez is the Sweetwater Union High School District’s equity curriculum and instruction teacher on special assignment. In that role, he does everything from writing curriculums to being the webmaster. He has created a semester’s worth of daily social and emotional learning activities for more than 1,800 teachers and 40,000 students in the district. Lopez works to use these activities and equity strategies in every subject area so that all students feel included. He also works with LGBTQ students and the community to provide resources ensuring that all voices are heard.

Maria Arroyo and Carla Sandez, No Place for Hate Leader Award: Arroyo and Sandez are a counseling team at Daly Academy in the Chula Vista Elementary School District. During weekly group counseling sessions, they teach compassion, understanding and equity, integrating the No Place for Hate curriculum as well. When they supervise in the maker space lab at Daly Academy, students are heard using phrases such as “I understand how you feel,” “I want to understand you better,” and “I am sorry. What can I do better next time?”

For more on the Lighthouse Awards, visit sdequity.sdcoe.net/lighthouse-awards.