Fred Newhart Middle School paraeducator wins CSEA Member of the Year Award

By Caitlin Antonios

Sandra Clark knew she wanted to be an educator when she was in second grade, and for the past 30 years she has dedicated her time to the students at Fred Newhart Middle School in Mission Viejo, assisting teachers and supporting students in the special education program.

This year, Clark was the recipient of the California School Employees Association (CSEA) Member of the Year Award, an award given to only a handful of people in the entire state of California and chosen through peer nomination. CSEA is a classified school employee union representing nearly 250,000 school support staff throughout California.

“It took a while to sink in because I’m receiving a lot of recognition, but to me it’s just part of the job,” Clark said. “I’m just doing what I like, what I enjoy doing.“

Since 1994, Clark has been working at Newhart, where she first started as a campus supervisor, but later transitioned into a paraeducator role. Paraeducators work alongside teachers to provide assistance and support.

At Newhart, she works with students who need extra help or more individualized attention to meet their needs.

“I want to see them be as successful as they possibly can be and I would do anything to help them reach or achieve their goals that they have,” Clark said.

Her dedication to mentoring, coaching, and supporting young people goes further than her time at Newhart. For over a decade, while raising her own three children, she provided at-home daycare for hundreds of kids.

Her oldest son took an interest in playing soccer, so when Clark heard the team needed help finding a coach, she signed herself up.

“I looked at it as a great opportunity for kids to be outside of school, that it’s an activity they needed help with coaching, so I signed up,” Clark said. She had never played soccer before, but she saw a need and jumped to fill it.

Her desire to help and support others is what led to her colleagues to nominate her for the CSEA Member of the Year Award.

“Sandy wants everyone to be educated and informed at the school site, at the district level, at the CSEA,” Alicia Gleason, a fellow paraeducator and one of the people who nominated Clark for the award said. “She’s a strong woman.”

The application is long and requires time and attention, but her peers’ dedication to the application is a testament to Clark’s impact on the community where she works. The job isn’t easy, Gleason said, and at times it’s not the most glamorous, but Clark’s commitment to the profession for so many years is a testament to her love for the job.

“She is all about the kids, whatever they need she is there to support them,” said Bridget Doolin, a paraeducator and another colleague of Clark’s who submitted her nomination.

Clark also supports her colleagues, advocating for them on the negotiating team of CSEA to increase pay and ensure employees know their rights.

“I look forward to coming to work every single day,” Clark said. “It’s important to me that I do well while I’m here, but I enjoy what I do so much it just comes easy. It’s easy for me to relate with the students and I just think the world of all of them.”

Clark hopes to encourage others to take different opportunities to work with young people to find what career could be a good fit.

“We have a lot more available to us now than we used to in the past where people can actually try something first,” Clark said. “I strongly recommend college or further career training in the specialty or field that interests you. By furthering your education, you will have more opportunities and options in selecting a career that you love.”

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