Sara Alvarado

Sara Alvarado grew up in Centralia. She started kindergarten in these schools, graduated from Centralia High School, and came back to work in the same district on purpose. She and her husband — a fellow graduate — are raising their two children here, both students in these schools.

Sara works in all five elementary schools — Edison, Fords Prairie, Jefferson Lincoln, Oakview, and Washington — supporting the teaching of reading, writing, math, and science. Some days that means planning a month of science with the third grade teachers. Some days it means standing shoulder to shoulder with a first grade teacher during a math lesson, or working with sixth graders on their writing. The best ideas in education, she believes, come from teachers themselves — her job is to help those ideas take shape and reach every classroom.

Sara has taught at several grade levels, from the earliest primary years through upper elementary. What she believes most is that every subject makes the others stronger: a strong reader brings more to a math problem, a child who wonders how the world works has a reason to read, and a child who thinks mathematically has a tool for solving real problems.

Her favorite part of the job happens twice: watching a student realize they can do something they didn't think they could, and watching a teacher walk away from a conversation with a new idea they can't wait to try. Both of those happen in the schools she grew up in, for the kids of the town that raised her — including her own.

Washington State certificated teacher with endorsements in Elementary Education and Reading. Master's in Education, K–12 Curriculum Development & Instruction.