Santa Rosa school raising money to memorialize student and teacher's aide

Cesar Chavez Language Academy parents are raising money for plaques to honor the lives of a teacher’s aide who died last month after a year-long battle with cancer and a first-grade student who drowned along with his father in December at Goat Rock Beach.

Their deaths were weeks apart and came as a big blow to the close-knit campus. Rocio Soto was in her third year working as an instructional aide at the Santa Rosa charter school when she died Jan. 20, Principal Rebekah Rocha said. Axel Sanchez Medina, 6, died Dec. 17 after he and his brother, William, 8, were swept away by a rip current. Their 31-year-old father, Omar Sanchez Hernandez, a school volunteer, is believed to have jumped into the rough surf to save them, but William was the only one who survived.

“We want to make sure they are not forgotten,” Rocha said.

Parents so far have raised $500 through a pozole sale. They need double that amount to buy the plaques, Rocha said. Axel’s plaque will be installed on a school bench, while Soto’s will go in the library, she said.

Donations made to the Cesar Chavez Language Academy Foundation can be dropped off at the school or mailed to 2760 W. Steele Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Make sure to note on the check the donation is for the plaques.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 707-521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.