Students First – Lisette Castillo
“At StudentsFirst, we believe that parents are an enormous part of helping to fix our education system. They play a crucial role in advocating for their students each day and ensuring that year in and year out their child has the opportunity to attend a great school and learn from a great teacher. Last year, we profiled the story of one West Sacramento mom, Lisette Castillo, as she shared with us what it took to enroll her son in a quality school through her local district’s open enrollment program. This year, Lisette is back at it again… We had thought that standing in line for our son three years ago would have been our last. As her brother is a student at Bridgeway Island Elementary, she should get priority right? Wrong! We felt as if we had been hit with a two-by-four in the head, as we learned that was not the case. We stood in the cold again this year to ensure that our youngest, Amayah, would get a spot in kindergarten. Not only did we camp out from 9:30 Friday night until 9:00 the following morning, but so did our children. While Moises and Amayah thought it was the coolest experience ever, my husband and I were greatly frustrated and sad about this broken system.”(more)