Maria Larios-Horton was recently appointed as the director of Multilingual and Migrant Education Programs for the Santa Maria Joint Union School District. She replaces Peter Haws, who joined the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District as an administrator.
Horton emigrated from Mexico as a toddler and grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley, and therefore she knows the migrant journey and benefits of higher education firsthand.
“As an immigrant and former English learner, the support and caring of committed teachers has been the key,” she said in a press release. “I would like to pay that forward by partnering with parents, educators, and students to innovate and create rigorous and supportive academic pathways that will lead to college and career readiness.”
As director, Horton will be involved with the school district’s English learner parent advisory committees, English learner programs, migrant education, the state seal of biliteracy, and AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).
She is the former director of English Learner Support Services at the Santa Barbara County Education Office and currently serves on the California Department of Education English Learner Accountability Institute Planning Committee—which is a conference for administrators and educators responsible for supporting English language programs.
This article appears in Aug 7-14, 2014.
