The Castillo Family
The Castillo family has a lot of history in the district; three members of their family currently work in the district and two generations of their family have attended Horace Mann K-8 Dual Language Magnet.
Margarita Castillo, administrative assistant and attendance and transportation clerk at Marshall Middle School, has worked for the district for the past 10 years. She started as a food service aide at Woodland Health and Wellness Magnet. She worked at Gardiner Elementary as a kindergarten, ESOL and special ed para, at Bryant Opportunity Magnet as a clerical para before working at Marshall Middle School for the past 5 years.
“My sister-in-law works in Nutrition Services and encouraged me to apply at the district since it provided a flexible schedule for parents,” Margarita remembers.
“My favorite thing is working with students and parents,” said Margarita. “I get to connect with our students and can then form a relationship with their parents which helps improve communication. We have a good team at Marshall and we work hard to build community within our school.”
Margarita’s sister, Maria Luna Castillo, has worked in the district for 8 years. She is the assistant supervisor of the Food Production Center, but started as a part-time food service aide, then became a fulltime food service aide serving food and helping prepare food to be delivered to schools.
“My main job is to make sure the schools have the food service aides they need,” said Maria. “I’ve been blessed with the opportunities that have crossed my path and have been given to me.”
Maria and Margarita’s niece, Caitlin Ibarra-Castillo, is a para at Horace Mann and has been with the district for three years.
One of the things Caitlin loves about her job is the relationships she forms with the students.
“I love working with the kids; the relationships I have formed with them and watching them grow,” said Caitlin.
Margarita has a 5th grader and a 1st grader and Maria has a 7th grader and a 3rd grader at Horace Mann. Caitlin’s brother also attends Horace Mann. Caitlin loves that she can see many of her family members while at work.
