-Editorial
The Foundation for Education, a nonprofit organization that supports students across Imperial County, will host its fifth annual Autumn & the Arts fundraiser on Oct. 2 at the Imperial County Office of Education.
The evening event will feature live music, dinner, and both silent and live auctions. Imperial County Teacher of the Year Dallana Gomez and her Culinary Arts Program students will prepare desserts for attendees.
As part of a tradition established last year, the Foundation will recognize an educator with the Champion for the Arts award. This year’s honoree is Jacqueline Pleitez, an art teacher at Southwest High School who has taught in the Imperial Valley for nearly a decade.
Pleitez grew up in Calexico and earned her bachelor’s degree in fine arts from UC Riverside before completing additional studies at the Art Institute of California in North Hollywood. She later worked with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the city of Los Angeles, where she supported students of all ages and helped develop community engagement programs. After returning to the Valley, she joined the teaching staff at Southwest High School, where she focuses on drawing and painting.
Pleitez said she sees art education as a way to help students develop skills that extend beyond the classroom. “It teaches students how to see the world differently, to solve problems creatively, and to communicate ideas that can’t always be put into words,” she said. She added that she considers the award to be a recognition not only of her work but of her students’ creativity and determination.
Dr. Todd Finnell, county superintendent of schools and president of the Foundation for Education, said the annual fundraiser highlights the role teachers play in inspiring students and shaping the community. “We are so lucky to have passionate art teachers like Mrs. Pleitez who make a real difference in our students’ lives,” Finnell said.
This year’s silent auction will feature 24 student art pieces, which members of the public can view and bid on online by registering at givebutter.com/c/aata2025/auction. Bidding will close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 2, with all proceeds benefiting the student artists directly.
In addition to student work, the auction will include professional pieces. Photographer Paulette Donnellon, known for her nature and wildlife images of desert ecosystems from Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to the Salton Sea, has donated a framed photograph. Artists Debi Smerdon of DS Art Studio and Cristina Salazar-Saucedo will also contribute works, while the Rainforest Art Project will donate a set of three mosaic pots designed to reflect the desert landscape. The mosaic installation is being created by Salazar-Saucedo in collaboration with students from Valley Academy School.
Proceeds from Autumn & the Arts will go toward the Foundation’s scholarship program, which provides financial assistance to some of Imperial County’s most vulnerable students. In 2025, the Foundation awarded more than $17,500 in scholarships to 35 students. Since the program launched in 2019, the Foundation has awarded nearly $90,000 to local students.
Tickets and additional information about the event are available through the Foundation for Education.
