Before class started one Monday morning, while Susy Govea was overseeing breakfast, a confused kindergartener approached her, saying her hand hurt. After a quick investigation, Govea found a sliver in her palm, and sprung into action with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Kathy in the front office will take out your sliver,” Govea told the student. “It won’t hurt, and you’ll feel all better!”

Govea, who is in her first year at Central as a multilingual paraeducator, prides herself on being a source of support for all students.

“I feel like every kid deserves a happy adult, that’s the biggest thing,” she said.

Govea’s main role is helping multilingual students at Central learn how to speak, read, and write English. As a Ferndale graduate (Class of 2013) who is fluent in two languages, she felt like this was a natural role.

“My mom is Mexican, so I grew up speaking Spanish,” Govea said. “I feel like I definitely can relate with the kids that speak another language.”

Throughout the school day, Govea meets with small groups of students to strengthen their English skills. A lot of this work is done through casual – but intentional – conversation. For example, after chatting with two first graders about their weekend, Govea showed them a picture of students in a school cafeteria with many different foods laid out.

“What do you notice? Where are they at?” Govea asked the students.

“They’re in school, probably, and they’re picking their food,” one student answered.

“Yeah! That’s a great observation,” Govea said, beaming.

The trio then had a conversation about different types of foods, what they eat at home, and how to tell which foods are salty or sweet. These seemingly simple chats help students slowly build their English vocabulary throughout the year, particularly for topics that will come up in daily life.

“Our picture cards are our conversation starters, and then it's kind of a domino effect after that,” Govea said. “We'll usually come across lots of new vocabulary, and then try making full sentences that they would later on be able to use in everyday conversations.”

Govea noted that one student of hers only spoke Russian at the beginning of the school year, and relied on a translator app on her phone to communicate. Now, he’s very comfortable speaking English, she said.

“Seeing how far they’ve come is one of the best parts of the job,” Govea said. “Going from not saying anything to having a full conversation with me – it’s pretty cool.”

Along with helping students learn English, Govea also helps by supervising school meals and recess. She has so many roles at Central that her biggest challenge is not being able to do everything.

“I wish I could split myself in three so I could help multiple kids at once!” she joked.

After working as a substitute paraeducator last year, Govea said she leaped at the chance to work full-time at Central. Not just because she loves working with the students, but because she also treasures her co-workers.

“Everybody here works like a family,” Govea said of Central’s staff. “It makes you happy to come to work!”

Govea’s co-workers had praise for her as well.

“Susy’s bilingual and can relate to a lot of our students, because she’s Spanish-speaking,” said fellow Central paraeducator Susie Contreras. “But if a kid is Ukrainian or Russian, she can use the translator and really talk to them. She’s amazing at connecting with them.”

“Susy makes a daily difference with her positivity and genuine care for students and staff,” added kindergarten teacher Andi James. “Susy’s natural ability to connect and create a supportive environment make her such a valuable member of our team. We are so lucky to share our days with such a fabulous educator!”