Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

Teachers who were Latino Americans, or who worked with Latino American student populations.

Alejandro Diasgranados: National Teacher of the Year finalist

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Alejandro Diasgranados, an elementary teacher from Washington, DC, has been named one of four finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year award. Photo credit: Alejandro Diasgranados.

Congratulations are due to Alejandro Diasgranados, an elementary teacher from Washington, DC. He has been named one of four finalists for the 2021 National Teacher of the Year award.

Alejandro grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He graduated from High Point High School, a public high school located in Beltsville, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Health Science at Virginia State University. While there, he played football. Once he earned his undergraduate degree, Alejandro briefly enrolled in a program specializing in physical therapy in Springfield, Massachusetts. Next, he worked as a substitute teacher in nearby Holyoke. That’s when he discovered his passion for teaching.

In 2015, Alejandro signed up for the Teach for America (TFA) program. He was placed at Aiton Elementary School in DC’s Ward 7. By 2018, the honored educator earned his Master’s degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University. When he walked, all 40 of his students raised the money to attend the graduation ceremony.

Alejandro’s achievements in his relatively short career have already been numerous. As an alumnus of TFA and a teacher-leader, Alejandro garnered a $10,000 grant from the Washington Football Team to establish a laundry center at his school. He also organized a coat drive at Aiton in cooperation with the Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals Devante Smith-Pelly. Most recently, Alejandro’s appearance on the Drew Barrymore Show resulted in a gift of 265 new laptops for his school to help close the digital divide during COVID-19.

Currently, Alejandro teaches English Language Arts and Social Studies to fourth and fifth graders. His curriculum empowers his students to act as agents of change, and he strives to inspire them to advocate not only for themselves, but also for others. In one project, his students hoped to challenge inequity of opportunity by creating and distributing pamphlets that explained how educational inequity impacts their community. They also wrote letters to DC leaders, including Mayor Bowser, Council member David Grosso, and Chancellor Ferebee.

In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Alejandro serves as a Cultivation Ambassador for Teacher Recruitment and on the Selection Team for DC Public Schools. He is a 2020-2021 Live it, Learn it Experiential Learning Fellow, and served as an Experiential Learning Leadership Pathway Facilitator for Teach For America (TFA) in 2019-2020. This Chalkboard Champion also served as a teacher mentor for the University of the District of Columbia during the 2019-2020 school year, and as a summer school coordinator for DC Public Schools.

To learn more about Alejandro Diasgranados, see this story about him published by DC.gov and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

Former teacher Dolores Huerta: A formidable civil rights leader

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Former elementary school teacher and formidable civil rights leader Dolores Huerta worked tirelessly to secure better working conditions for migrant farm workers in the 1960’s. Photo credit: Public Domain.

Like many people I have heard of formidable civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. She worked tirelessly to secure better working conditions for migrant farm workers in the 1960’s. But did you know she was also once a teacher?

Dolores was born in Dawson, New Mexico, on April 10, 1930. In fact, she just celebrated her 91st birthday earlier this week. Raised in Stockton, California, Dolores graduated in 1955 with an AA and her teaching credentials from the College of the Pacific. After her college graduation, she accepted a teaching position in a rural Stockton elementary school. She had been teaching for only a short time when she realized she wanted to devote her vast energy to migrant farm workers and their families. “I couldn’t stand seeing farm worker children come to class hungry and in need of shoes,” she once explained. “I thought I could do more by organizing their parents than by trying to teach their hungry children.”

After just one year, Dolores resigned from her teaching position, determined to launch a campaign that would fight the numerous economic injustices faced by migrant agricultural workers. Joining forces with the legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez, the intrepid educator helped organize a large-scale strike against the commercial grape growers of the San Joaquin Valley, an effort which raised national awareness of the abysmal treatment of America’s agricultural workers. She also negotiated contracts which led to their improved working conditions. The rest, as they say, is history.

Although there are several fairly good juvenile biographies of this extraordinary woman, there is no definitive adult biography about her. The closest thing to it is A Dolores Huerta Reader edited by Mario T. Garcia. This book includes an informative biographical introduction by the editor, articles and book excerpts written about her, her own writings and transcripts of her speeches, and an interview with Mario Garcia. You can find A Dolores Huerta Reader on amazon. I have also included a chapter about this remarkable teacher in my second book, entitled Chalkboard Heroes.

Miami teacher Lizbet Martinez: She came to the US on a raft

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Florida music educator Lizbet Martinez fled the repressive Castro regime and came to the United States on a raft when she was just a child. Photo credit: The Buffalo News.

Many dedicated educators can share a personal history of overcoming great adversity. One is Lizbet Martinez, an elementary school teacher who, when she was just a child, fled the repressive Castro regime to come to the United States on a raft.

Lizbet was only 12 years old when she braved the dangers of the sea to immigrate to this country from her home island of Cuba on nothing more than a raft. She was one of more than 30,000 Cubans who made this treacherous journey during what is known as the “balsero crisis” of 1994. Lizbet and her family were plucked from the waters by the US Coast Guard on Aug. 21, 1994. At the time, the child was clutching a violin case, which the Americans discussed confiscating because they believed the case might contain a weapon. To prove them wrong, Lizbet opened the case, pulled out her violin, and began to play The Star Spangled Banner. Before the family fled the Castro regime in Cuba, she was studying violin at Alejandro Garcia Caturla Conservatory in Havana.  After their rescue, the Martinez family and other refugees spent five months at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base before being relocated to Miami.

When she grew up, Lizbet enrolled at Florida International University in Miami. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 2003. Cuban-American singer Willy Chirino offered her with a $3,000 scholarship to help pay for her college expenses. At her college graduation, she was asked to performed the national anthem to open the commencement ceremonies. Later, Lizbet performed with music stars Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada. She also performed for President Bill Clinton and George H. Bush.

The aspiring teacher completed her student teaching assignment at Emerson Elementary School located in Westchester, Florida, and at Coral Reef High School in Miami. At the grade school, she taught basic music skills. At the high school, a magnet school for teenagers interested in music, she conducted the string orchestra.

Lizbet became a teacher at Emerson Elementary school. She also taught at M.A. Milam K-8 Center, where she was a music instructor until budget cuts cancelled the school;s music program. She then taught English.

To read more about this remarkable educator, see this story published by The Buffalo News.

New Mexico teacher Chris Sarmiento succumbs to Covid-19

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New Mexico teacher and coach Chris Sarmiento succumbed to Covid-19 on Feb. 19, 2021. He taught at Vista Middle School in Las Cruces. Chris was only 33 years old. Photo credit: KVIA-ABC7.

Sadly, we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Chris Sarmiento, a teacher and coach from Las Cruces, New Mexico, succumbed to the disease on Feb. 19, 2021. He was only 33 years old.

Chris was born on July 17, 1987, in El Paso, Texas. As a young man, he graduated from Jefferson High School in his home town. He earned his Bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from University of Texas, El Paso.

Chris taught social studies to sixth and seventh grades at Vista Middle School. The loss of this teacher and coach will be keenly felt among his students and colleagues, asserts school Principal Mike Brewer. “He was one of those teachers that, if you needed something done, he was one of the first ones that would step up,” Brewer recalls. “It’s going to be a big loss for the Vista family.”

Chris was well-known as more than a teacher and coach to his students. He was also a role model and substitute parent. “He wanted to be a father figure for those kids that didn’t have one,” said his widow, Mary Sarmiento. Mentoring young people was a tradition in his family, she explained. “The reason why he taught is because he followed in his grandfather’s footsteps,” she said. She noted that her husband’s grandfather, Tula Irraboli, was a passionate advocate for children. In El Paso, Irraboli worked to help at-risk youth find motivation to succeed in athletics.

In addition to his responsibilities in the classroom, Chris also coached the eighth grade football team. He continued his efforts to mentor his young athletes. “He wanted to tell them it was important to be a good athlete, but also a good student,” his wife said.

Prior to teaching in Las Cruces, Sarmiento taught at Anthony High School in Texas, his wife said. He also tutored at Bowie High School in El Paso and completed his student teaching at Brown Middle School.

To read more about Chris Sarmiento, see this obituary.

Florida science teacher Bertha Vazquez has won accolades

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Middle school science teacher Bertha Vazquez of Miami Dade Public Schools in Florida has won many accolades for her work in the classroom. (Photo credit: freeflo.org)

I always enjoy sharing stories about one of the many fine science educators in our country. One of these is Bertha Vazquez, an award-winning science teacher from Miami Dade County Public Schools in Florida. She has won many accolades for her work in the classroom.

Bertha teaches earth science, physical science, and life science at George Washington Carver Middle School in Miami Dade, Florida. Her career there has spanned 30 years. In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom, she serves as the director of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), a program connected with the Center for Inquiry and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Bertha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, suma cum laude, from the University of Miami in 1989. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Science Education from Florida International University in 1999. She was also named to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 1999.

For her work as an educator, Bertha has earned many accolades. In 2008, she was named the South Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair Middle School Teacher of the Year. She garnered the Miami Dade Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Award in both 2008 and 1997, and in 1998 she was a finalist for Miami Dade Teacher of the Year. Bertha was also named a Premio Verde Escolar in 2012. She earned a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM grant in 2014, a Charles C. Bartlett Award for the National Environmental Education Foundation in 2009, and a Verizon Foundation Grant for Educators in 2011.

To learn more about Bertha’s work, see this link to the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. You could also check out this link to the Center for Inquiry.