In 1992, Donna Watts began her teaching career at a bilingual elementary school. She taught kindergarten and first grade until she moved to Calabasas High School. For the past five years, Watts taught at Medea Creek Middle School. This year, she has become Oak Park High School’s new Spanish teacher. 

Watts grew up in Huntington Beach, California. Although Watts did not grow up bilingual, she attended college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and majored in Spanish. She then attended school in Madrid. 

“Right now I teach Spanish I at the high school, and at Medea I teach Spanish I and the Intro to Spanish elective class which is a semester-long,” Watts said. 

Watts has always wanted to be a teacher ever since she was growing up. Watts found the Oak Park Unified School District by doing a search for open jobs. 

“I always knew Oak Park was a good school district, so I saw a job opening and applied. I was really lucky to get the job,” Watts said.

Watts was planning to retire early, but her love for teaching made her want to continue Spanish. 

“I was working in another nearby school district,” Watts said. “I decided to do an early retirement option and then I changed my mind and wanted to go back to work and looked for open jobs.”

Since Watts is not new to the district, the familiar faces make OPHS a welcoming place. Many students who attended MCMS have welcomed Watts into OPHS as she makes her change. The new adjustment has been going well for Watts. 

“I like being here and seeing the students that I had at Medea,” Watts said. “It is so nice when they come to visit and say hi. I really like it so far. I am really happy to be here.”