Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

Chicago teacher Olga Quiroga succumbs to Covid-19

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Elementary bilingual education teacher Olga Quiroga of Chicago, Illinois, succumbed to Covid-19 on Oct. 1, 2020. Photo credit: New York Post

We are sad to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Olga Quiroga, a bilingual education teacher from Chicago, Illinois, succumbed on October 1, 2020, after a three-week battle with the disease. She was 58 years old.

Olga’s career as an educator spanned three decades. At the time of her passing, she taught bilingual education to first graders at Funston Elementary School. The school offers a comprehensive bilingual/monolingual academic program for students in grades Pre-K through 8th grade.

This compassionate educator said she deliberately chose teaching assignments at schools in lower-income neighborhoods because she believed that is where she was needed most. “My mom [would tell us] … ‘Those are the families that appreciate a good education … If I’m going to make a change,’ that’s where she wanted to start,” remembered Olga’s daughter Giovanna Quiroga.

Colleague Lois LaGalle agreed. “She was never intimidated by authority or school policy,” La Galle recalled. “When she saw a wrong being done to a child or a child’s family … whenever she would see an injustice being done that could be fixed and should be fixed, she never hesitated for a moment to advocate.”

Olga’s patience and passion for helping immigrant students came easy to her, because she herself was an immigrant. She came to the United States with her husband from Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1985. Once she arrived in this country, Olga took job cleaning houses for $50 per week. She also enrolled in night classes to learn English and to earn her GED. Over time, she earned her Associate’s degree, and then she enrolled at Chicago State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree.

Olga inaugurated her career in the Chicago Public School system in 1991 as a Reading Instruction Assistant. She served in this role for ten years. In 2001, she earned her certifications in English as a Second Language.

To read more about Olga, see her obituary published in the Chicago Sun Times.

 

Selena Torres: English teacher and member, Nevada State Assembly

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High school English teacher and member of the Nevada State Assembly Selena Torres of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Often excellent classroom teachers also achieve success in the political realm. One teacher who has done this is Selena Torres, an English teacher from Las Vegas, Nevada, who also serves as a member of her State Assembly.

Selena was born and raised in Las Vegas. Her father is an immigrant from El Salvador who came to this country to escape the civil war in his home country. Her mother is also a high school English teacher.

A member of Teach for America, Selena earned her Associate of Arts degree in Spanish from the College of Southern Nevada in 2014 and her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 2016. She has been a member of the Kappa Delta Chi Sorority since 2015.

Since 2017, Selena has been employed as an English teacher by the Clark County School District. “In my classroom, I regularly speak with my students about their future after high school,” expressed Selena. “My students are eager to be productive members of our community but are often limited by the skills they are given in the classroom. Additionally, students find it difficult to navigate higher education and trade schools to pursue the career of their dreams,” she continued. “As a Nevada legislator, I continue to be a strong voice for Nevada students and advocate for legislation that puts our students and our future first,” she concluded.

The talented classroom teacher was elected to the Nevada State Assembly on the Democratic ticket.  She has represented District 3, which includes Clark County, since 2018. She is a member of the Education Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Legislative Operations and Elections Committee.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, check out her website at selenatorresnv.com.

Educator Jaime Escalante taught his students to Stand and Deliver

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Celebrated educator Jaime Escalante: He taught his students to Stand and Deliver.

One of the most well-known teachers in twentieth-century American history, Jaime Escalante, passed away in 2010, but already his story is fading from our collective cultural memory. He was the teacher portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver.

The recipient of numerous awards and special praise from President Ronald Reagan, Jaime Escalante was a popular and talented teacher who challenged supposedly “unteachable” inner-city Latino students to achieve beyond a level anyone thought them capable of. He eventually led them to unparalleled success on the extremely difficult Advanced Placement Calculus exam.

In researching Jaime’s life story for my own book, Chalkboard Champions, I learned some surprising facts about this remarkable educator. For example, the movie never mentions that prior to immigrating to the United States, he earned a degree in mathematics and a teaching credential in Bolivia. Jaime was a veteran teacher with nine years of experience in prestigious schools when he decided to leave his politically unstable homeland and come to America in search of a better life for his family. Once he arrived, unable to speak a word of English, Jaime discovered that his education, training, and experience held no value here.

Determined to return to the classroom, Escalante set about learning the English language and earning his university degree all over again. It took him ten years to get back into the classroom, at a significant cut in pay, by the way. But to this dedicated teacher, it was well-worth the hard work. A well-researched and well-written account of this celebrated educator’s life can be found in the biographical book Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America by Jay Matthews. For a condensed version of Jaime Escalante’s life, check out chapter 12 my volume, Chalkboard Champions. Either way, you’ll find his story compelling and inspiring.

Connecticut’s Felipe Reinoso: Expert educator and politician

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Connecticut’s Felipe Reinoso: Expert educator and accomplished politician.

There are many fine educators who have also served successfully in political offices. One of these is Felipe Reinoso, a high school social studies teacher who also served in the Connecticut State House of Representatives.

Felipe was born in 1950 in Arequipa, Peru. He was one of five sons born to his parents, Cirilo and Angelica Reinoso. In 1969, when Felipe was 19 years old, his family immigrated to the United States. They settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Felipe earned his Bachelors’ degree at Sacred Heart University in 1984. The school is a private Roman Catholic university located in Fairfield, Connecticut. He earned his Master’s degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1987. Later he earned a second Master’s degree, in Public Administration, from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Felipe inaugurated his career as an educator at Warren Harding High School. He taught Social Studies there for 14 years. In 1989, he accepted a position at the Saturday Hispanic Academy in Science at his alma mater, Sacred Heart University. In 1998, Felipe and two colleagues founded the Bridge Academy High School, a charter high school located in Bridgeport. He served as the school’s principal through 2006.

In 2001, Felipe earned the Martin Luther King, Jr. Vision Award from Fairfield University. The award recognized Felipe’s tireless effort to instill and inspire the teachings and ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the youth of his community. In 1999, he was one of 21 honorees to receive the President’s Service Award from President Bill Clinton. The honor was given for volunteer efforts directed at solving critical social problems. The award is the highest honor given each year by the President of the United States for volunteerism.

In 2000, Felipe was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Connecticut House of Representatives. There he represented the 130th District from 2001 and 2009. He was the first Peruvian-American to become a member of any US state legislature. While in the legislature, Felipe worked to lower tuition rates for immigrant students. He also worked towards allowing non-citizens an opportunity to gain a driver’s license.

After he left office, Felipe returned to his native country of Peru. He settled n the capital city of Lima, where he still lives today. To learn more about him, see this link at Our Campaigns.

Teacher Jessica Duenas named Kentucky’s 2019 Teacher of the Year

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Teacher Jessica Duenas named Kentucky’s 2019 Teacher of the Year.

Kentucky’s 2019 Teacher of the Year is sixth grade teacher Jessica Duenas of Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky.

In all, Jessica’s career has spanned ten years. The honored educator, a native of New York, initiated her career in a Brooklyn middle school. After moving to Louisville in 2012, she joined the staff at Shawnee Academy in Jefferson County Public Schools. She later moved to the district’s Highland Middle School. In 2015, she transitioned to Oldham County Middle School. This year, Jessica joined the inaugural staff of WEB DuBois Academy. The school is one of five schools in the nation that supports young boys with an Afro-centric curriculum. The school targets the lowest performing demographic.

In the classroom, Jessica enjoys a reputation for building relationships with struggling students who are often overwhelmed and forgotten. She also serves as an adviser to Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis and is a statewide equity trainer. In addition, she is part of the Kentucky Council for Exceptional Children. And if all that wasn’t enough, Jessica mentors Latino students at Adelante Hispanic Achievers. Jessica is a published author as well. She has published articles in The Courier-Journal and Education Week TEACHER.

Jessica earned her Bachelor’s degree in History from Hunter College at the City University of New York. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching Students with Disabilities from the Brooklyn College at the City University of New York. She has also completed courses in instructional leadership from Bellarmine University located in Louisville.

To learn more about this amazing educator, check out this link: CCSSO.