2 EDCAL June 24, 2019
AOY winner pays it
forward by creating
scholarship endowment
Lancaster High School Class of 2019
graduate Alondra Ayala Martinez is the
first recipient of a new scholarship created
following ACSA’s 2018 Administrator of
the Year Awards.
It all started when 2018 Marcus Foster
Memorial Award for Administrator
Excellence recipient Stacy Bryant decided
to invest the $5,000 grant she received
from winning the award back into the stu-
dents of Antelope Valley in the form of a
scholarship endowment.
“I want to give the students of the
Antelope Valley a role model and some-
one to look up to — who better than
Dr. Foster?” said Bryant, referring to the
legendary Oakland USD superintendent.
“And rather than give a one-time schol-
arship I wanted to make this money work
so that we can award a senior scholarship
every year in Dr. Foster’s name.”
After being named, Bryant rallied her
local ACSA AV Chapter and collected
$1,000 toward the $10,000 needed to cre-
ate the endowment.
Then during the ACSA Leadership
Summit Awards celebration in November,
Bryant implored attendees to help her
match the $5,000 check she had received.
Close to $3,000 was collected that eve-
ning, and with the generous support of
AV Chapter President Nicole Hernandez
and chapter member Barbara Gaines, the
scholarship endowment was formed.
The $10,000 endowment will fund
an annual $500 scholarship at Antelope
Valley College, in perpetuity, for seniors
who attend school in the Antelope
Valley.
The first annual Marcus Foster
Scholarship Endowment at Antelope
Valley College was awarded this spring.
“Alondra is a great, dedicated, and
hardworking student,” said Jonathan
Kittinger, her multimedia teacher. “Alondra
has shown great character and respect
in the classroom. There are few students
who can compare to her drive and passion.
Alondra puts everything into whatever she
is working on. Any institution, place of
business or person will benefit greatly from
having/associating with Alondra.”
Alondra would like to obtain a degree
in psychology and work as a social worker
or clinical psychologist. She is a member
of the California Scholarship Federation
Alondra Ayala Martinez, left, is the first recipient of the new Marcus Foster Scholarship Endowment at Ante-
lope Valley College, which was created by 2018’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award winner Stacy Bryant, at right.
and the Spanish Honors Society and still
finds time to be a member of Link Crew, a
program that helps middle school students
transition into high school. She serves as a
mentor, role model and high school guide
helping ensure the freshman transition is
as smooth as possible.
She is a first-generation college stu-
dent and plans to attend Antelope Valley
College and then transfer to a four-year
university.
In her scholarship application Alondra
wrote, “I aspire to help many other people
in hopes that one day everyone will be
okay and at peace with themselves and
maybe then, the world won’t be such a
horrible place where people act irrationally
due to a mental illness or simple misunder-
standing of emotions.”
Neville-Morgan appointed as CDE Deputy Superintendent
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction Tony Thurmond announced
June 6 that he has appointed Sarah
Neville-Morgan as Deputy Superintendent
for the Teaching and Learning Support
Branch at the California Department of
Education.
Neville-Morgan is the former Director
of the CDE Early Learning and Care
Division. In that role she provided lead-
ership and support to the early learning
community, providers, and contractors
statewide.
“Sarah is an advocate and champion for
learners of all ages throughout the state,”
said Thurmond, in a press release. “Her
background and collaboration with part-
ners in the field of early learning and care
is unparalleled, and she brings those skills
to her new position. Under Sarah’s lead-
ership and strategic focus, her branch will
continue the work that ensures students
from birth to age 22 have access to a quali-
ty and equitable public education.”
Neville-Morgan started her career at
CDE as a Child Development Consultant
in 2011. In 2013 she left to become the
Deputy Director of Program Management
at First 5 California. There, she managed
a team and funding focused on closing
the achievement gap and supporting qual-
ity early learning. Neville-Morgan also
worked as the Deputy Executive Director
of the Governor’s Early Learning Advisory
Council during the Schwarzenegger
and Brown administrations, and as an
Academic Child Development Specialist at
the University of California, Davis Center
for Child and Family Studies. She also
has worked in a child care resource and
referral agency, with foster care education
programs, and has supported school teen
parent programs. She returned to the CDE
in 2017 to lead the Early Learning and
Care Division.
As the Deputy Superintendent for the
Teaching and Learning Support Branch,
Neville-Morgan will oversee a branch that
is responsible for helping all students —
from early learners to adults — reach their
academic potential and goals by providing
the necessary support to early educators
and providers, teachers, administrators,
school and district leaders, and communi-
ty-based organizations. She will continue
the work of the Teaching and Learning
Support Branch to ensure that inclusion
practices are established during classroom
hours, before and after school, and in early
learning and care programs, and that the
programs and instructional resources and
supports reflect diversity, accessibility, and
equity.
Neville-Morgan earned a B.A. in
Psychology at Earlham College in
Richmond, Indiana, and a M.S. in
Child Development at the University of
California, Davis.
Neville-Morgan replaces former Deputy
Superintendent Tom Adams. She started
in her new role on May 31.
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