Together We…Impact Student Lives
Stone Avenue Elementary Site Coordinator Darlene Castruita has been an instrumental part of Think Together’s Jurupa Valley team, Riverside Region and the entire organization. No matter what challenge is in front of her, Darlene keeps a positive mindset and understanding that what she does is essential to the development of our students. Her resourcefulness, creative thinking, kindness, guidance and encouraging nature makes her a strong leader who cultivates an amazing team connected to Think Together’s mission. We are excited to share a little more about her with you.
What’s your “why” for working at Think Together?
My “why” is to be able to provide a quality program to my community. I know that my staff and I are making an impact in our student’s lives when past students who are now in high school want to come back and be part of the program as mentors to our younger students. That is what pushes me to continue with my work at Think Together.
What has been one of your team’s greatest successes so far this school year?
One of the best successes this school year has been how much our students in program have grown. Whether academically or emotionally they have made great strides to better themselves. One of our students expressed how he felt so welcomed in the program and said, “I am so happy to have someone to talk to about my day and have someone to share my bad days with as well.” Our little humans have the potential to be anything they want to be, and we are happy to be part of their lives.
What is your favorite Think Together memory since you started working here?
One of my favorite memories is to this day receiving updates from my parents about their students, how they are doing in school and life. One of my first parents shared with me the following “Ms. Darlene I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for always pushing my son to his best in school and going after his dreams. You make him feel like he can do it.” It’s a reminder that we as a program continue to make an impact on them even after they leave us.
Especially over the last two years, we’ve had to experience a lot of adaptability and flexibility. What is one way you’ve helped support your team and students through this time?
I had the opportunity to be able to be part of the lesson curation team to create lessons for our students that would help with social and emotional learning. Watching these lessons come to life during virtual learning and seeing the impact these lessons had on our students was an amazing experience. Since then, my team and I have been able to adapt at a moment’s notice to better support our students and district during this time of need.
What are you looking to accomplish during 2022?
I’m looking forward most to being able to watch and contribute to our student’s improvement in every aspect of their lives.
Thank you, Darlene, to you and your team for changing the odds for kids!