|
Annette Maldonado is Hispanic administrator in the Okaloosa County School District
(Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 19--MARY ESTHER -- From the beginning, Annette Maldonado wasn't supposed to make it.
She grew up poor in a Spanish-speaking household in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood.
"I got free lunch. I was an ELL (English Language Learner) student," she said.
But with faith and perseverance, the Mary Esther Elementary School principal has made a mark for herself as the first Hispanic administrator in the Okaloosa County School District.
She wants other children -- poor, Hispanic or just struggling -- to know they can accomplish their goals, too.
Maldonado's struggles started early and she continued to face stumbling blocks along the way.
While she was finishing college in Miami and preparing to begin her student teaching, Hurricane Andrew ripped through in 1992 and destroyed everything she owned.
She moved to Okaloosa County with her husband and daughter. All of their possessions fit in the back of a pickup truck.
"I moved to Okaloosa County as a homeless person," she said.
Times were tough; she struggled through a domestic violence situation.
Eventually, she ended up working part time at Sam's Club and raising two children alone while finishing her bachelor's degree at the University of West Florida.
Even as she worked toward her teaching goal, she was told that with her heavy accent -- a strong mix of Brooklyn and Spanish -- she would have difficulty getting a job in Okaloosa County.
She was relentless. She softened her accent and acquired a teaching position.
Maldonado taught fifth grade at Longwood Elementary School before spending three years at the district office working as a Title I specialist.
During that time, she finished her master's degree and bought her first home. She was appointed principal at Mary Esther in the fall of 2006.
She hopes she can serve as a positive example for her students, particularly Hispanics, who often have a limited number of role models.
"They need to relate to somebody," she said.
Research shows that Hispanics, now the nation's largest minority group at more than 43 million people, have an even higher representation among school-age children, Maldonado said.
"Okaloosa County has shown an increase in this population over the years, and we can only expect to continue to see this trend," she said.
"In districts where Latinos have high levels of representation, Latino students are not only less likely to experience second-generation discrimination, but are also more likely to achieve levels comparable to their Anglo counterparts," she said.
Many Hispanic families are sent to Maldonado through word-of-mouth, even if their children don't attend her school.
"When they can walk up to a school, a principal speaks their language," she said. "It's one less thing they have to worry about in an area that is predominantly English speaking."
Maldonado doesn't attribute her success to being Hispanic, but she is proud of her rich family and cultural values.
She doesn't see herself as someone extraordinary, "just someone who had a goal in life and had some stumbling blocks."
Daily News Staff Writer Rachel Kyler can be reached at 863-1111, Ext. 1440.
To see more of the Northwest Florida Daily News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.nwfdailynews.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To Hosted Communications Global Community's Homepage ]
|
INDUSTRIES
Activate Email 
