GILROY
– Melinda Watts grew up in a military family, moving every three
years and criss crossing the country from one base to another.
GILROY – Melinda Watts grew up in a military family, moving every three years and criss crossing the country from one base to another.
Her experiences have given her a unique perspective of living in other people’s shoes, and she credits her childhood for her desire to give back to her community. Watts has always volunteered her time for others, and, as a member of the Junior League of San Jose, she worked with abused children and helped put together a respite care program.
”I liked the life, I have a strong personality and I enjoyed meeting new people and being in new places,” Watts said of her childhood.
Her siblings, on the other hand, were quieter and didn’t enjoy the moving.
”But it did make me more well rounded,” she said. ”I’ve learned about the differences in the way people life their lives.”
Watts’ relatives are from the Pacific Northwest and northern Idaho, but she became a part of the Gilroy community 15 years ago when she and her husband, Dennis, moved to the area to be closer to his mother. His family – he has five siblings – is from Saratoga, and when his mother moved to Gilroy, she talked the couple into buying a home in Gilroy as well.
”I’d not spent much time in California, so what did I know?” she said. ”No one told me it was out in the middle of nowhere.”
Melinda did have a hard time living in one place after being on the move for so many years, but after a few years she found Gilroy to be the right place to be.
”I love the area; we have wonderful neighbors. When we moved here, there were still cattle ranches at the end of the street,” she said. ”I like the quiet, friendly pace. And if I want to get across town, it’s a breeze. A 15 minute drive is a long commute. It’s a safe community, we have police and firemen nearby, we are really very fortunate.”
Her husband, who works for LSI Logic, is on the road a lot, Watts said.
”But when he’s home, he can work from home,” said Watts, who is a stay-at-home mom.
”I have two small children. Kyle, who is 6 years old, is into bugs and lizards, and Kate, who is 4, likes to pretend she is a princess,” she said.
Before having her children, Watts worked as an accountant. Now she volunteers her time at her son’s kindergarten class and also at her daughter’s co-op nursery school, where she is currently the president.
”It’s my focus right now,” she explained. ”I’ve been involved with the Morgan Hill Parent Child Nursery School for four years now.”
Parent participation nursery schools date back as far as 1916, when a group of faculty wives at the University of Chicago organized a cooperative program to provide social and educational experiences for their young children, and to gain child-free time to pursue volunteer activities. Contemporary preschool cooperatives usually offer enrichment activities for children for two to four hours per day.
The Morgan Hill Parent Child Nursery School is staffed by an expert in early childhood education and parents assist in the classroom, including Watts. Parent involvement contributes to the quality of the program and also cuts down on operational costs.
”I was one of those mothers that couldn’t let go,’ she laughed. ”At the Morgan Hill Parent Nursery School I am involved in my children’s learning, I understand what they are going through, and I’m learning too. The school has helped me evolve as a parent.”
Watts has no desire to be on the road again nor does she want that for her children.
”It’s hard enough just going to kindergarten,” she said. “Sometimes the sameness of things is comforting.”
