Sandhya Ong was recently selected as the Paraprofessional of the Year for the 2025-2026 school year.
“I am so very touched and honored with the unexpected recognition,” Ong said. “I feel very blessed to be on such a great campus surrounded by a supportive team, fantastic mentor teachers, and amazing students.”
Ong said she decided to start subbing in the fall of 2025 and then transitioned into an inclusion aid role.
“My workday then begins with sometimes seeing students during advisory or planning how and which classes I need to tackle for the day or ensuring I am prepped for any test that may be taken that day,” Ong said. “Then it’s off to hit the classes of the day.”
As a paraprofessional, Ong interacts with kids and ensures that they understand a concept that was a struggle.
“It brings joy to my heart,” she said.
One of the most challenging parts of Ong’s job is not being in the classroom or providing test support to her students because she needs to fill in as a substitute. One of her other challenges is trying to give each student the attention they need.
“For example, when multiple classes of mine are testing at the same time, I feel torn if I cannot be there as support for each one,” Ong said. “My goal is to help build the students’ confidence in math.”
Ong said she enjoys being able to work at the school and be more involved with her daughter, Abbey, who is a senior.
She enjoyed subbing in the fall and would generally pick the math jobs if they came available.
“It seemed that people found out I knew what I was doing in math and asked if I would be interested in the math inclusion aide position that was opening up,” Ong said. “The rest is history, I guess you can say.”
