Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

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

Ivonne Orozco: New Mexico’s 2018 Teacher of the Year

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Ivonne Orozco

Spanish teacher Ivonne Orozco from Albuquerque named New Mexico’s 2018 Teacher of the Year.

When she was only 12 years old, Ivonne’s family immigrated to the United States from Mexico. She started school in the US as an English-language learner, but by the time she reached high school, she was enrolled in honors courses. She also ran cross country and track, and graduated in the top 10% of her class. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education at the University of New Mexico  “But I did not get here alone,” Ivonne concedes. “I had teachers and family that set core foundations along my journey that contributed to my success. These included high expectations, staying the course, building a strong voice, and valuing “teachers and education,” she describes.

After her college graduation, Ivonne garnered a position as a Spanish teacher at Public Academy for Performing Arts in Albuquerque. She is in her fourth year there. “Every day in my classroom, I keep in mind that all students can be successful, no matter where they traveled from to get here in the morning, or how much money their parents have, or how much they still have to learn. I keep my expectations high,” Ivonne declares. “It’s unclear why there’s still a misconception out there that students facing challenges at home can’t succeed at school. That is false,” she asserts. “Lowering standards for any of our kids is a disservice. They deserve high-quality standards, options, and teachers,” she concludes.

Ivonne is committed to creating interactive, challenging lessons for all students. She has worked with a team of teachers from across New Mexico to revise blueprints for state level Spanish End of Course exams. She also contributes to an effort to reduce LGBTQ adolescent suicide. In addition, Ivonne is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Secondary Education with a focus on Reflective Practice.

 

Chalkboard Champion Mary Gannon: The teacher with no arms

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Teaching in a classroom filled with fifth-graders is already a difficult, but one chalkboard champion from Lakewood, Ohio, faces an extra challenge. Teacher Mary Gannon was born without her arms.

As a young child, Mary lived in an orphanage in Mexico City. When she was seven years old, she was adopted by American parents who brought her to this country. When she arrived, she spoke no English. Mary said growing up in an orphanage gave her a desire to help and teach kids. “Sometimes I even forget that I don’t have arms because my students don’t treat me any differently,” Mary declared. Now an adult, Mary teaches math and science at Harding Middle School  in the small Ohio city of Lakewood, located near Cleveland.

This amazing educator said she decided to share her story to show everyone that anything is possible. View her story in the video below. It’s a few years old, but the story is timeless.

 

Jennifer Ruiz: International professional women’s soccer player and former teacher

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Jennifer Ruiz

Jennifer Ruiz: International professional women’s soccer player and former teacher

Did you know that many talented athletes were also teachers at some point in their lives? This is true of California’s Jennifer Ruiz-Willliams, a professional women’s soccer player who is also a former teacher.

Jennifer was born on August 9, 1983, in Anaheim, California. As a young woman, she attended Corona High School in Corona, Riverside County, California. While playing for Corona, Jennifer was named Most Valuable Player three times. In 1998 and 1999, she played with the Olympic Development Program District and State teams. In 2000, she played with the Southern California Blues U-16 team. That year, the squad garnered a national championship. The following year, Jennifer helped the U-17 squad to a second-place finish at the national championships. For these accomplishments, Jennifer was recognized as the Citrus Belt Athlete of the Year in 2001.

After her high school graduation, Jennifer enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, under the Teach for America program. She attended there from 2001 to 2004, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. After her college graduation, to fulfill her obligation to Teach for America, Jennifer taught at an inner-city school in Los Angeles for two years. She later earned a Master’s degree in Education from Loyola Marymount University.

During the years she was working on her degree, Jennifer continued to play soccer, and her resume in the sport is impressive. She went to the Australia Cup competition in 2003 with the Mexico Women’s National Football Team. The team qualified for the Summer Olympics held in 2004 in Athens, Greece. In addition, she was part of the 2011 team that earned a Bronze Medal at the Pan American Games. From 2011 to 2012, Jennifer played for the Bay Area Breeze, part of the Women’s Premier Soccer League. She served as captain of that team. In 2013, the former teacher joined the Seattle Reign Football Club, part of the National Women’s Soccer League. She made seven appearances for the club during its inaugural season.

Even though she no longer teaches in the classroom, Jennifer has continued working with young people. In June 2012, Ruiz was a guest coach at the Julie Foudy Leadership Academy. She served as a director and coach of the Nashville Football Club, where she managed the development of the girls academy and mentored players on regional teams who competed in international competitions. For ten years, she has served as a youth soccer coach for the Palo Alto Soccer Club. In February, Jennifer accepted a position as an assistant soccer coach at California State University at Northridge.

Jennifer Ruiz-Williams: a genuine chalkboard champion.

English teacher and Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Alan Diaz

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Alan Diaz

Former English teacher and Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Alan Diaz

I always enjoy sharing stories about teachers who have exhibited talents in addition to those they use in their classrooms. One teacher like this is Alan Diaz, a former English teacher who has also won a Pulitzer Prize for photography.

Alan was born and raised in New York City. He was the son of Cuban immigrants, who decided to return to their native island in 1964 when Alan was a teenager. When he grew to adulthood in Cuba, Alan became a school teacher, while at the same time studying photography.

In 1978, Alan returned to the United States, where he continued his career as an English teacher. He also pursued his passion for photography. In 1994, Alan worked as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press, and in 2000 he became one of their staff photographers.

Alan is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of armed federal agents seizing a terrified Cuban refugee child, six-year-old Elian Gonzalez. The little boy’s mother had drowned off the coast of Florida as the two struggled to reach American shores. In the months preceding the seizure, Elian’s Miami-based relatives had been fighting for asylum for the child and his right to remain in the United States, despite the fact that his father in Cuba wanted him returned home. It was a battle the relatives ultimately lost, so the little boy was taken at gunpoint and sent back to Cuba. The gut-wrenching picture Alan took on that day earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

After a career for the Associated Press that spanned 17 years, Alan decided to retire in 2017. The former teacher still lives in the Miami area.

You can view his award-winning photograph and read more about this amazing educator and photographer at the Washington Times.

Kindergarten teacher Edwin Sorto: His kids learn to salsa dance!

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Here’s a teacher you’ve just got to get a kick out of. He’s Edwin Sorto, a kindergarten teacher at KIPP Promise Academy, a public school in Washington, DC. In addition to his classroom responsibilities, Edwin is a professional salsa dancer, and he loves to teach his young students to dance, too!

To supplement the usual curriculum, Edwin has integrated dance into his lesson plans. He believes that learning to dance helps his students obtain a well-rounded education, and it teaches important life skills such as discipline and social skills. “They work incredibly hard at both academics and dance,” Edwin once explained. “This is just one more thing that keeps them engaged in school.” This amazing educator has the kids almost-expertly performing salsa, merengue, and bachata. He has even taught them choreography from Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video.

Edwin was born in El Salvador, and immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He was raised in a family where dance was a part of everyday life. Edwin believes that it’s best to learn how to dance when people are young because children pick up dance moves more easily and they are less inhibited than adults.

Edwin received his teacher training at Capital Teaching Residency, an organization which trains new educators in the DC area. There he partnered with a master teacher for one year at KIPP Promise Academy. Once he completed his training, he was allowed to create his own lesson plans. Now, groups of 25 to 30 students meet with him every day for his special afternoon classes where he leads physical education, art, and cultural activities.

When he’s not working with his kindergartners, Edwin travels around the country performing salsa with a dance team called Casineros. He also performs with Cazike, a Latin dance company run by his wife who also teaches at KIPP Promise Academy.

Enjoy this brief YouTube video of Edwin with his dancing kindergartners below: