"I have a genuine interest in doing what’s best for the students and incorporating the family”

DIXON, CA (MPG) - She was born in Mexico with a father who worked the crops of California, leaving the young family for several months at a time. She was only in kindergarten when her father decided that it “wasn’t good to stay in Mexico,” and moved his family of six children to Vacaville at first, then to the Dixon Migrant Center.

“I remember it all very clearly,” said Marta Salazar, the new Principal at Gretchen Higgins Elementary School. “I am a migrant camp child.”

The Dixon Migrant Center is like a small city housed in a former U.S. Navy Installation on Radio Station Road in the boondocks of Dixon and was established in 1950 by the Yolo Housing Authority to respond to the seasonal labor needs of farmers.

“The City of Dixon assumes the liability; the farmers pay a fee; and the day-to-day running for the center is paid for by state grants through the Department of Migrant Services,” said Devon Nishimura who served as Chair for the Dixon Housing Authority Board during his council term.

Over the years, a plethora of services from daycare to bussing students have been provided to thousands of extremely low-income and low-income residents of Yolo and Solano Counties such as Salazars. They have to overcome the language barrier and often, health issues after experiencing long periods of poverty. The goal is to make sure all migrant students reach the same standards as traditional students and graduate with a high school diploma or complete a GED.

Salazar started first grade at Silveyville Elementary School and got all her basic education in Dixon, graduating from Dixon High School. Afterwards, she attended UC Davis and was first in her family to earn a degree. Her major was Spanish.

“I wanted to be a Business Spanish major and work in International Business but motherhood called and two sons had been born before she finished college with a teaching credential. She began her student teaching at Silveyville in Kindergarten and thankfully, she says, with a veteran teacher. After several years there and two more children, she “took some time off.” Although that wasn’t more than one year.

She began again at Gretchen Higgins as a bilingual first-year Spanish teacher. Then twin daughters arrived and she took two years off to concentrate on her family.

She returned to Silveyville as a part-time Reading Specialist. When it closed, she went over to Anderson Elementary picking up the rest of the hours in English Language Development.

“My desire was to educate families that went through what I went through,” said Salazar. “My parents never did get the partnerships with the schools that we have now, and I wanted a larger scale impact. My story is their story.” She began thinking of going into administration and took some more classes to move in that direction.

Dixon Unified School District Superintendent Brian Dolan encouraged her to apply for the Principal spot. This year with her oldest son now 32 and the twins 19, she was chosen to run Gretchen Higgins.

“There is so much to learn!” she said. “It is quite a leap [from teacher to Principal] and quite an adjustment. But I love being able to connect with the kids on a different level.” She gives the daily school announcements in both languages and enjoys connecting with students during lunch duty where she reports “there is much more to say when one can speak both languages.”

“This school has an awesome team of teachers and great people in the office; that’s why I said yes,” said Salazar. “I have a genuine interest in doing what’s best for the students and incorporating the family.” With six children of her own and a wealth of experience in Dixon schools, this homegrown Principal should know. 

Gretchen Higgins has about 370 Kindergarten through fifth grade students with a large English Language Learner population—some from the Migrant Center. There are about 20 teachers and about ten full- and part-time support staff. It is located at 1525 Pembroke Way.