Elect Estela DePaz as WCCUSD District 1 Trustee
Residents of Hercules, Pinole, Bayview-Montalvin, and Giant (“District 1”) can now vote for their own representative on the West Contra Costa Unified School District board.
About Estela
- I grew up in Rodeo, California.
- My family moved to Rodeo from the Philippines in 1981.
- I graduated from John Swett High School.
- I attended SF State University, and graduated with a bachelor’s in International Business.
- I moved back and settled in Hercules with my family in 2003.
Career and Professional Experience
- Spent 20+ years of my career in Information Technology and Financial Services.
- Held numerous roles and organizational leadership responsibilities in marketing, product development, quality assurance and testing, and project management.
- Certified (since 2007) as a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
- Recently completed my Master’s Degree in Project Management at the University of Wisconsin – research focused on transferability of project management practices and competencies into Special Education.
- Fun Facts: I love crafts! Knitting, soap-making, kombucha brewing, sewing, tie dye, and recently, calligraphy.
Role in the Community
- 10+ years of School Site Councils – Wilson Elementary, Portola/Korematsu Middle School, Hercules Middle School – usually as chairperson. Current chair of Hercules High School SSC.
- Past chair and current member of WCCUSD’s Special Education Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
- Current member District Local Control Accountability Plan Parent Student Committee (DLCAPS).
- President of the grassroots organization called Parents for the Educational Advancement Community of Hercules (PEACH).
- Board member of the Hercules Rotary Club.
- Member of the Philippine Independence @ Hercules Event Committee.
Current Projects
- Helped organize the Hercules High School drive-thru graduation.
- In-classroom volunteer teacher/consultant at HHS Leadership Class.
- Co-creator and coordinator of Hercules Maker Fair. This would have been our fourth year, but we got canceled due to Covid-19.
- The Parent Education Night Series (PENS). This project was a partnership with PEACH, Hercules High School, and Hercules Middle School.
- With Hercules Rotary Club – two active service projects: 1) the Hercules Rotary Website Development Project; and (2) “How to Zoom – Zoomers Showing Boomers”. Both projects are in partnership with Interact Club students from Hercules High School.
Platform and Priorities
- Budget operations alignment – Our taxpayer dollars must be invested wisely towards the education of all our children – demand accountability, align school activities to educational outcomes, insist on traceability to ensure transparency.
- Mental health and social-emotional learning – We need to identify creative and community-based approaches to assist our students.
- Computer technology-assisted instruction – With Covid-19 and the budget crisis, we must consider how to fully leverage technologies to help our teachers provide rich and engaging instruction.
- Community, communication, and collaboration – We must create spaces for constructive dialogue, to share knowledge, and gain agreement.