Pajaro Valley Unified honors Students of the Year and announces banner installation May 27

Pajaro Valley Unified School District recognized Students of the Year from across the district during a board meeting that featured principals introducing honorees from elementary, middle and high schools and announced a district banner installation scheduled to begin May 27.

The program highlighted individual students’ accomplishments and next steps. Samantha Lera, principal of Minty White Elementary School, introduced David Kolyote as Minty White’s Student of the Year, saying he “comes to school every day ready to learn and participate” and has worked “really hard this year to improve his reading and math skills.” Jason Rooney, principal of Caesar Chavez Middle School, presented Amirani Hernandez Delgado and cited her “near‑perfect attendance” and leadership in daily announcements. Joseph Smith, principal of Renaissance High School, described Cynthia Garcia Ferea’s turnaround from early credit and disciplinary issues to student‑body president and dual enrollment at Cababrio College.

District officials said the student banner project, done in partnership with the city of Watsonville since 2020, has showcased graduating students and will display 32 new banners beginning Tuesday, May 27; banners will remain in place through the following school year. Multiple principals named the students selected for 2025 and noted many honorees’ postsecondary plans, including attendance at community colleges and four‑year universities.

Allison Hank Sloan, Aptos High School principal, introduced Daniel Eskea and noted his role as the PBUSD student board member this school year. Daniel was recognized for fostering student engagement with district leadership; his parents and mentors were thanked during the presentations. Several principals and staff emphasized traits such as leadership, perseverance, community service and dedication to learning when presenting honorees from Diamond Technology Institute, Watsonville Charter School of the Arts, Pacific Coast Charter and other district schools.

District staff and board members also read community congratulatory comments. Dr. Contras (identified in the meeting transcript by name) offered districtwide thanks: “We’d like to congratulate all of our students who were nominated for Student of the Year,” she said, thanking principals and staff for their work on the recognition program. Board leaders closed the meeting with additional congratulations to seniors and students of the year.

The board announced its next regularly scheduled meeting will be May 7 and said it will be held in person at the city council chambers. The meeting was adjourned at 7:44 p.m.

The presentations and the banner project underscore the district’s effort to publicly recognize student achievement across elementary, middle and high schools and to highlight students’ pathways to college and career plans.