For Immediate Release
March 30, 2022
Contact: Jennifer Valdivia
(213) 414-4812, [email protected]
Board Member Mónica García Celebrates 5th Annual Sal Castro Awards with Teachers Who Encourage Equity, Access and Justice
(Los Angeles, CA, March 30, 2022) — Board Member Mónica García and Local Superintendents, Jose P. Huerta and Frances Baez, celebrated the 5th Annual Sal Castro Teacher Awards. Twenty-five secondary teachers were recognized for their courage in advancing educational justice and access to college and career pathways. In 1968, Sal Castro, a Lincoln High School teacher and activist, empowered Mexican-American students to demand a quality education and call out routine and institutional discrimination against Chicana/o and Latina/o students in Los Angeles Unified. Their demands contributed to the Civil Rights Movement and eliminating barriers to quality education. Because of Sal Castro and courageous teachers like him, there are more students graduating from high school and college, and many more culturally relevant student experiences in our classrooms. Attendees included Charlotte Lerchenmuller, Castro’s widow, Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, Executive Director for InnerCity Struggle Maria Brenes, and performances by Mariachi Olimpico from Theodore Roosevelt High School.
“The Sal Castro Family, sons Gil and Jim, grandsons James and Michael, and I congratulate the winners of the Sal Castro Award,” Charlotte Lerchenmuller said. “Educators who believe in educational justice through access and equity to an outstanding education are needed now more than ever. We salute you and thank you for carrying on the Sal Castro legacy.”
“Sal Castro! Presente!” Board Member Mónica García said. “54 years ago, and still today, student voice and student activism demand accountability from all of us, adults and systems alike. Our beloved Sal Castro never stopped being an advocate for students and their unlimited potential. We are grateful for his courage and solidarity with students, then and now. We are equally grateful for the many who in his spirit, fight for equity, access and justice every day.”
“It is an honor to recognize educators who are carrying on Sal Castro’s legacy of fighting for educational justice,” Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said. “Like Mr. Castro, the teachers recognized today promote, inspire and encourage youth leadership and education around social justice, civic engagement and equity.”
“Local District East — the home of Lincoln, Garfield, Roosevelt and Wilson High Schools, four of the five schools that led the 1968 Walkouts alongside Sal Castro — could not be prouder of this year’s award recipients,” Local District East Superintendent Jose P. Huerta said. “Congratulations to our 15 dynamo teacher leaders for continuing Sal Castro’s legacy of educational justice and student success. I am so proud of our teachers’ professional achievements and all that they do to prepare our students for college, career, and beyond.”
"I celebrate the teachers recognized in this 5th Annual Sal Castro Awards,” Local District Central Superintendent Frances Baez said. “Their persistence and dedication to offering students a premier education in their neighborhood school is a testament to the legacy Sal Castro and the students of 1968 left behind."
“Congratulations to all of our educators for uplifting our students. I’m so grateful as the Executive Director of InnerCity Struggle and as an L.A. Unified parent for the investments and care of our educators,” Maria Brenes said. “We are lucky to be in a community that celebrates the legacy of Sal Castro, reminding us of our growth, culture, and our educational right.”
The 2022 Sal Castro Award Honorees are:
Miriam Cardoza, Abraham Lincoln High School
Elizabeth Bush, Belmont Senior High School
Arturo Ortiz, Benjamin Franklin High School
Michael A. Garrido, Boyle Heights High School
Dora Marquez, Boyle Heights S.T.E.M. High School
Patricia Martin, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School
Ruth Cardenas, Francisco Bravo Senior High Medical Magnet
Paulina Martinez, Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School
Tracy Jones, Central High School Tri-C
Jacqueline Rodriguez, Downtown Magnets High School
Jessica Marie Ruiz, Edward R. Roybal Learning Center
Jesus Gastelum Camacho, East Los Angeles Performing Arts Magnet, Esteban E. Torres HS
Ivette Duran, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy, Esteban E. Torres High School
Theresia Rosa Kleeman, Social Justice Leadership Academy Magnet, Esteban E. Torres HS
Jermaine Upshaw, Highland Park High School
Leroy Pulido, Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy
Lucy Juarez, James A. Garfield Senior High School
Lizette Becerra, Academic Leadership Community, Miguel Contreras Learning Complex
Sandra Flores, Los Angeles School of Global Studies, Miguel Contreras Learning Complex
Aprille Abram, School of Social Justice, Miguel Contreras Learning Complex
Leticia Pintado, Pueblo De Los Angeles High School
Oralia Resendez, Sal Castro Middle School
Rekha Prakash, Theodore Roosevelt High School
Anna Murillo, Math, Science, and Technology Magnet Academy, Theodore Roosevelt HS
Michael Aragon, Woodrow Wilson Senior High School