Alicia Cantu wouldn't have it any other way

MATTAWA - Alicia Cantu didn't know anything about Mattawa before moving here in 1983, but 30 years later she wouldn't think about leaving.

"I love it here," she said recently. "When I go to Sunnyside, Yakima or the Tri-Cities, I go crazy with the traffic. I have to get back to Mattawa."

Cantu is perhaps the most recognizable person in the entire Wahluke school system. She has been working there 29 years. She has worked with this year's seniors, and their parents, since kindergarten.

How much longer Cantu will be able to work is in question. She was discovered to have MS a few years ago, and it presents challenges some days. Lately there has been right side weakness and occasional reliance on a cane.

"Sometimes when I have a flare-up, I have to take time for a treatment," she said.

But you really wouldn't know Cantu is struggling, just to look at her. She greets everyone with a hearty smile and goes about her daily duties with a smile. She's at home on the job.

"I'm not even thinking about retirement," she said. "I'm going to do this as long as I can.?"

Cantu was born in Toppenish and raised in Mabton. She graduated from Mabton High in 1982 and married Osiel Cantu in 1983.

The Cantus moved to Mattawa in 1983 when Osiel decided to seek opportunity here. He hired on with orchardist Richard Yanoff.

Alicia decided to seek opportunity here, too. A year later, she applied with the school district.

"I wanted to do something meaningful with my life," she said.

Cantu, a native Spanish-speaking American, noticed the growing Hispanic enrollments throughout South Central Washington. Her bilingual skills, although somewhat limited, might be an asset, she thought.

Cantu was correct but, still, she was surprised - and elated - when the call came with the offer of a job.

Cantu was given home visitor duties first. She would be the go-between for parents and educators in all matters that needed better understanding.

Cantu quickly learned the Spanish she spoke was not the same as the Spanish coming out of Mexico. She asked parents and students to help her become better in Spanish while she helped them with English.

In 1985 Cantu became a classroom assistant. Then she took on the assignment of determining family eligibility for federal migrant program services.

"They were hard to find. They were way out of town," Cantu said.

Cantu's next assignment was as a remedial assistant in grades K-5. She took struggling students out of regular classrooms and worked with them on math, reading and writing in a special room. It was not one-on-one, but each student studied at his or her pace.

"I remember we did some testing," Cantu said "The ones who were qualifying the most were straight up from Mexico."

Although Cantu was no longer a home visitor, she helped. Home visitor Kathy Sahli was placed in the same room so Cantu could assist her with communication.

In 1986, Cantu got a new assignment with Telecom Programs. She recorded off a satellite transmission the classes being used at Wahluke High School.

One year later, Cantu became a para-pro at the Mattawa Elementary School. She helped teacher Jill Allyn teach English as a second language.

"The students said, 'You teach us English, and we'll teach you Spanish,'" Cantu said. "They knew I was limited. They corrected me."

Cantu moved to the Saddle Mountain Intermediate School in 1989 to do the same work, again with Allyn. In the mid-1990s she became a secretary at Mattawa Elementary.

The only time Cantu declined a job offer was early in her career. It required only three hours. Cantu felt she couldn't afford to drive in from Road I, where she lived, daily for so little. The district offered her a different, full-time job.

"I love it here. I've liked it from the beginning," Cantu said. "I've enjoyed every job. I like the one I have right now."