A proud alumna of Euclid Elementary School and De Anza Jr. High. She currently serves as the Magnet Program Coordinator at Central Language Academy. Prior to this role, she was a dual language teacher, and has been employed by OMSD for the last 15 years. In total, Mrs. Sanchez has been a professional educator for the last 25 years. She believes her family is an “OMSD Family” since her husband works for OMSD, her children attend OMSD schools, and she lives, shops, attends church, frequents the library, and her children play sports in Ontario. Mrs. Sanchez is inspired by the wisdom that comes in many forms from the most innocent child to the oldest member of a community. There are many ways that Mrs. Sanchez “pays it forward” for the OMSD community. She frequently connects parents to community resources, provides translating services to the parent community, leads informational workshops on critical issues like reclassification, helps with various extracurricular activities that directly benefit OMSD students, supports OMSD sporting activities on the weekends, and believes so strongly in the OMSD educational programs that she sends her own children to OMSD schools. The advice she offers to educators is to always remember why they went into education and never forget that students must always remain our focus. When asked about her definition of excellence, Mrs. Sanchez quoted John Wooden who said, “It takes time to create excellence.” For these reasons, the Ontario Montclair School District is proud to honor Mrs. Maricela Sanchez as a 2017 Model of Excellence. Her commitment to excellence is evident through her relentless service, dedication, and belief in OMSD students, educators, parents, and community.