News & Resources

Have you ever attended one of ACSA’s Legislative Action Days? It’s a jam-packed day meeting with state legislators from the local, state, and federal level to share ACSA’s beliefs about the future of public education.  Your local voice makes a difference on Leg. Action Day! This year’s event will take place April 7-9, 2019. If you are interested in representing Region 18 at this important event, contact our VP for Legislative Action: Debra McLaren and Erin English.

Did you know that Region 18 will be offering three ACSA Academies this year? These are a great professional growth opportunity and a way to advance your career.

• Curriculum & Instruction
• Personnel
• Superintendents

For more information and to apply, visit www.acsa.org/academies.

Emcee Jim Esterbrooks, Dianna Carberry and Amanda Brooke wait patiently for the next awardee to take the stage at the 15th Annual “Honoring Our Own” Awards Dinner in San Diego on April 28, 2017. Congratulations to the 26 awardees who received recognition for excellence in their field!

Our business partner sponsors played a major role in the success of the gala event where over 500 educators including school board members, friends, family and sponsors gathered to celebrate.

The All-American Refuge

Mohammed Mohammed’s story has a happy ending. But the cruel reality is Mohammed’s story is the exception.

“He’s a very inspirational case,” said Sophia Jacoub, an English language coordinator in Grossmont Union High School District. “Not every student who comes in to a new country at 14 or 15 years old makes it this far.”

Mohammed, ACSA’s Region 18 Every Student Succeeding Award recipient, was born in Iraq. His father owned a car dealership. Terrorist groups used the family’s wealth as an opportunity to incite fear and threaten violence.

“They would always tell my father that they were going to kidnap me, but if he paid them money, they wouldn’t kidnap me,” Mohammed said. “From that, he didn’t let me out of the house. He told me to stay home and be safe.”

In 2008, the same terrorist group kidnapped Mohammed’s father. His mother sold the family’s house to pay off the ransom, but his father was never returned, and they never saw him again.

“Some people say he’s alive and some people say he’s not,” said Thekra Betrus, Mohammed’s mother, in her native language of Arabic. “But I don’t really care because we’ve missed him for eight years now, and he hasn’t shown up. I’ve been the one raising my son. So whether or not I have my husband, it doesn’t matter because God gave me a son, and I care about him the most.”

Mohammed’s mother made the difficult decision to move the family to Syria. When they first arrived, Mohammed described his new country as “another United States.” But that quickly changed when the civil war began in January 2011. The United Nations estimated more than 90,000 people were killed in the first 28 months of the war. More criminal groups began kidnapping children in Syria, just as they had done in Iraq.

“I was really scared, and I just thought that it was the end,” Mohammed said. “My family is all going to get murdered by those people, by the terrorists. But then my mom stepped up and she said, ‘We need to leave this area. We need to move on with life.’”

In November 2012, Mohammed and his mother escaped Syria with the help of the UN and made the journey to the United States, ultimately ending up in El Cajon. Knowing very little English, Mohammed struggled to adapt to his new environment. But he quickly discovered, he was not the only refugee in El Cajon. The city is believed to have the second-largest number of Iraqis in the United States. El Cajon Valley High launched two summer school programs to help refugees assimilate and adjust to their new lives: Hope, Opportunity, Prosperity and Education (HOPE) and Perseverance, Responsibility, Independence, Dedication and Education (PRIDE). Mohammed flourished, and before long he was named captain of the school’s soccer team and was crowned Homecoming King.

“When I heard his name, I cried because I felt this is who deserves it because the students vote and it just proves how liked and well-respected he is on campus,” English teacher Melissa Drake said. “It was the greatest moment.”

Mohammed suffered through two wars, multiple attempted kidnappings and the loss of his father. He graduated from El Cajon Valley High and has dreams of becoming a doctor.

“His impact on campus transcends being a refugee,” El Cajon Vice Principal Jason Babineau said. “It’s not about being a refugee to Mohammed. It’s about him impacting groups of people throughout the entire campus, including staff members, including teachers, including vice principals.”

But more than anything, Mohammed Mohammed is safe and secure. And that’s what matters most.

“At first I always thought that I would be murdered or kidnapped,” Mohammed said. “And I would always have that fear. But right now in America, I don’t have any feeling of that. I’m in a better place. I’m in a place where it’s safe.”

2016 “Honoring Our Own” Awards Dinner

Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel & Resort

Region 18’s 2016 Awardees were celebrated at the Honoring our Own Awards Dinner on March 18, 2016. Read the story and view photos in the Fall, 2016 issue of the Communicator.

Awards Dinner Emcee, Jim Esterbrooks, welcoming our 2015 Region 18 ACSA/San Diego County School Boards Association Student Scholarship winner, Andria Montgomery, to the stage at the Honoring Our Own Awards Dinner on March 18, 2016.

Alannamae Charfauros

Daniel Boone Elementary School, San Diego USD

During the 2012-13 school year, Alannamae endured a major tragedy and was sent to live with her extended family. The English language learner had already proven herself to be tenacious and talented enough to become classified as a GATE student. Her resolve only continued to grow.

Alannamae maintains excellent grades and is a model school citizen despite hardships she faces in her home situation.
Alannamae’s circumstances would weigh so heavily on the average student that the pressure would keep them from functioning. Alannamae, however, found the warm environment of Boone school to be a nurturing place where she could thrive and make school success a priority. Alannamae is an excellent example of how Boone Elementary School staff surrounded and supported one of its own; school is a safe haven where she can blossom and grow.

View a list of the 2015 Region 18 Administrators of the Year:

2015 Region 18 Administrators of the Year