Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education

Newspaper Articles

New adult school chief puts

focus on parents

Posted: Friday, July 6, 2007
BY: Sentinel Staff Report

Ricardo Tellez hasn't been on the job a week yet, but he's already opened a new school.

The new director of Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education toured the Institute of Language and Culture on the first day of classes Thursday.

The school, part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, will focus on teaching English as a second language, and fits in with one of Tellez's most cherished goals â€” giving parents the tools they need to help their children succeed in school.

"This is a major resource for the school district," he said. "When we support parents supporting their children, we're going to see test scores go up"

Tellez replaces Bob Harper, who left the district to take the top adult education job in Pacific Grove. Tellez is a veteran educator, who taught students learning English at the elementary school level, worked in migrant education for 16 years and in Head Start at the Monterey County Office of Education for eight years.

For the past year, he was assistant director of adult education in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

He grew up in Fresno, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Fresno State. He earned his teaching credential from Sacramento State.

Tellez, 49, lives in Salinas. He is married and has a 13-year-old son and 9-year-old twin daughters.

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Ricardo Tellez is the new director of Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education.

Top educator to leave Pajaro Valley

Posted: Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
BY: AMY LARSON

One of the top educators in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District is making a career move to Pacific Grove: Adult Education Director Bob Harper.

“Bob is probably the best adult ed person in the state. (His departure) will be a tremendous loss to this district,” Interim Superintendent Mary Anne Mays said.

Even on his last day, June 29, Harper will be involved in a landmark achievement with the opening of the new Institute of Language and Culture.

Harper first stepped in as director of Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education in July 2001 with a desire to help immigrants and struggling community members strengthen their literacy and English skills.

Harper was born in northeast Los Angeles, where he grew up intertwined with Latino culture and learned how to speak Spanish.

“Adult ed is a force for social justice,” Harper said.

Educating adults improves the educational experience of their children, which is the key to leveling the playing field, he said.

Bob Harper, director of Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education, talks about his departure Tuesday from his post at the end of June.

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SOS gives students second chance in life

Posted: Thursday, May 17th, 2007
BY: AMY LARSON

During her junior year of high school, Evelyn Borjon, 18, started ditching class frequently and never wanted to be at home. The only place left to go, she said, was the streets.

Borjon was never formally expelled from Watsonville High School, but after not showing up to class day after day, an administrator gave her the message to not bother showing up at all.

The teen was not sure how long she was out of school, a period when she said she regularly drank and smoked.

“I just did my own thing. I was always on my own since I was a little girl,” the Watsonville native said. She enrolled in Pacific Coast Charter School for a brief period, but ended up dropping out.

Borjon was fighting a losing battle with depression and avoided being around people, including family members who were heavily involved in gangs.

“I didn’t want to bring others down around me,” she said, and only went home to sleep, shower and eat.

Borjon hit a mental low point when a cousin she was close with was found dead in one of Watsonville’s sloughs.

Last year, Borjon was hanging out with a friend by the Cabrillo College Watsonville Center when she met Charmaine Ryan, head instructor of a program created by a partnership between Watsonville/Aptos Adult Education and Cabrillo College.


Charmaine Ryan (right) helps her students Wednesday in the Second Opportunity for Students class, which is a partnership between Watsonville/Aptos Adult Ed and Cabrillo College.

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