FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2014
Danielle McNamara
(510) 987-0230
Press Release
Sarah Mutuku, a teacher at Channel Islands High School in Oxnard, received the High School Advisor of the Year Award from a statewide math and science program.
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) honored Mutuku for her outstanding work in assisting educationally disadvantaged students to excel in math and science.
Mutuku was selected from among MESA teachers representing more than 120 high schools in California. She’s been a MESA advisor for six years.
The MESA program at Channel Islands is coordinated by the MESA Schools Program at University of California Santa Barbara. Channel Islands High is in the Oxnard Union High School District; seventy percent of Channel Islands students receive free or reduced lunch.
“Ms. Mutuku has devoted a vast amount of hours throughout the years to ensure the members of the program are successful. She has been a great mentor for the three years I’ve been involved with MESA, “ said Channel Islands student Rebecca Hernandez, who will graduate and go to college this fall. “I am truly thankful to have had the chance to work with a teacher as great as her.”
MESA is one of the largest programs in California to support educationally disadvantaged students so they can graduate from college with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees. MESA provides academic support and enrichment to more than 18,000 K-12 students and more than 7,800 community college and 4-year college students each year. Most MESA students are economically disadvantaged, the first in their families to attend college and attend underperforming schools.
For more information about Ms. Mutuku contact UCSB MESA Director Phyllis Brady atphyllis.brady@ucsb.edu.
For more information about MESA, visit us at mesa.ucop.edu or on Twitter @MESASTEM.