Newcomer Center Director selected for upcoming year

We are pleased to announce that Manissa Featherstone will serve as the director for the district’s Newcomer Center, which will open at Thornton High School this coming year. Many of you already know Manissa as the assistant principal at Thunder Vista K-8. Manissa has been with the district for more than 15 years. Her tenure with the district includes leadership positions as assistant principal at Coyote Ridge and Woodglen, as the ESL Coordinator at Thornton Middle School, and as the district’s Language Learner Coordinator. Her vast experience and passion for the work make her an excellent fit for this exciting new role.

We asked Manissa to share her vision for the upcoming Newcomer Center, which will open for its inaugural year in the fall:

I am thrilled for this opportunity to be the inaugural leader of the Newcomer Center at Thornton High School.  I am looking forward to building a diverse team of staff, parents, and community members that will work together to create a space where students new to the United States and their families feel represented, welcomed and appreciated. The Newcomer Center will provide opportunities for students to develop English in addition to their heritage languages, learn academic content in a highly sheltered environment, and participate in extracurricular activities.  My best hope is that the students we serve at the Newcomer Center will build upon their native language to affirm and develop English, allowing them to write their own success stories as they look toward graduation and transition into post secondary opportunities.