About Gwen Estes
We will take scholarship donations all year.
I have spent most of my life in the Bay Area and lived in Union City for almost 40 years before moving to the state of Washington in June of this year.
I came to Union City in June of 1983 with my son Allen and my daughter Carla. Both are products of the New Haven Unified School District and have gone on to lead productive lives. My son is an attorney, and my daughter is a middle school principal; both reside in the state of Washington.
I worked for the Department of Justice as a federal probation and parole officer before deciding to get into education. I worked for the Alameda County Office of Education from 1992-2019 as a classroom teacher. I retired in June 2019.
When I moved to Union City with my children, I decided to become involved in their schools. I was active on school site councils both at what was then called New Haven Middle School and James Logan High School. I had the honor of being elected school site council chair at both schools-serving as chair of both at the same time. I volunteered as a tutor and helped with Saturday School. In 1994, I was elected to the New Haven Unified School District Board of Education. I am the first Black elected official in Union City and the first Black school board member. I served on the school board from 1994-2010. During my tenure on the school board, I continued to volunteer in the district. I started two at-risk programs for students at Barnard-White and New Haven Middle schools focused on helping students who were struggling in school become more successful. The names of the programs were P.O.S.S.E. (Positively on our way to becoming successful students through education) and P.I.E.C.E.S. (Partners in education committed to excellence in students). P.O.S.S.E. was for the students at Barnard-White, and P.I.E.C.E.S. was for the students at New Haven Middle School. I also started a scholarship fund for students who had endured hardship while growing up but still wanted to attend college once they graduated from high school. The scholarship was called the Unity Scholarship, with funds coming from the sale of Unity pins that I designed and made. There were over a dozen scholarships given out over a period of 6 years.
I was an active parent in the track and field program at James Logan High School, where both my son and daughter participated. It was under the leadership of Coach Webb that both of my children were able to reach their athletic potential. My daughter was able to earn a full scholarship to USC because of the help and support of Coach Webb. I enjoyed supporting the track and field program by participating in the sale of fireworks, as well as helping out at the meets and special events.
I have been blessed with people who made a difference in my life through their care, concern, help, encouragement, and support. I am grateful.