Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

Jason Torres-Rangel named CA 2023 State Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Jason Torres-Rangel has been named the 2023 California State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Pomona College

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for his work in the classroom. One of these is Jason Torres-Rangel, a high school English teacher from Los Angeles, California. He has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Jason teaches Advanced Placement (AP) English to juniors at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. His career as an educator spans 19 years. In his classroom, Jason strives to create “curriculum that is student centered, culturally aware, (and) that tries to show minoritized voices in ways that challenge assumptions in society.”

The honored educator had excellent models to emulate when he chose to go into the teaching profession. Both his father and mother are math and computer science teachers who inspired him with their own dedication to creating science, technology, engineering, and math opportunities for East LA students.

Jason’s honors as California’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition he has earned. He was named the LAUSD and LA County Teacher of the Year in 2022. In 2020, he was recognized by the American Federation of Teachers for his work in the Community Schools Movement. In 2016, he was recognized by the White House for the Initiative Advancing Educational Equity for Hispanics. In 2015, he won the United Way Inspirational Teacher award, having been nominated by a student and her mother.

Jason earned his Bachelor’s degree in English from Pomona College. He earned a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University, and a second Master’s degree in English from California State University at Los Angeles. He is working on his PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont.

Christina Melly named Missouri’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Christina Melly of St. Louis, Missouri, has been named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Christina Melly

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Christina Melly, an English teacher from St. Louis, Missouri. She has been named the 2023 Missouri State Teacher of the Year.

Christina teaches at Ritenour High School, where she haas worked for 13 years. The school just happens to be her high school alma mater. She has also coached her school’s speech and debate team, served as the Chair of the English Department, and , And as if all that were not enough, she is also a Gateway Writing Program teacher-consultant.

In addition, Christina is active in her local teachers’ union. She has served as the President of the Ritenour National Education Association. There she holds the position of the Missouri Resolutions Committee. Recently she was elected to a fourth term as a delegate on the National Resolutions Committee.

As a first-generation American, Christina understands the value of using writing to amplify her students’ voices, including publishing their experiences with writing through the National Council of Teachers of English’s English Journal. “I am the best teacher on the days I learn from students,” Christina declares. “It takes a lot of practice and courage to reach those days, but the lessons that define me as a teacher have student choice, voice, and experiences at the center; this creates shared ownership of our learning,” she continues.

Christina earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and a second Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2010. She earned her Master’s degree in English and a graduate certificate in the teaching of writing from the same university in 2015.

To read more about Christina Melly, click on this link to an article published about her by UMSL Daily.

 

CA educator Efrain Tovar uses “translanguaging” strategies in his Newcomers class

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Many outstanding educators are working diligently to help recent immigrants to the United States learn how to function fluently in the English language. But some of the best are those that encourage these students to simultaneously develop their proficiency in their native languages. One of these is Efrain Tovar, an English as a Second Language teacher at Abraham Lincoln Middle School in Selma, located in Fresno County in California.

Efrain creates a vibrant classroom community for “newcomers,” the moniker given to recently-arrived immigrant students who have limited proficiency in English. In his class, students come from a wide range of countries, including Mexico, Yemen, India, Egypt, Guatemala, and others. Efrain uses this ethnic diversity not only to create a safe and welcoming space for learning, but also to further develop and personalize each student’s English language learning curriculum.

Efrain is an advocate for Ann instructional process known as “translanguaging,” the practice of encouraging the student to use their existing linguistic backgrounds and heritages to master new academic content and, ultimately, to be able to move fluently between two or more languages. Studies have shown that when English language learners are given consistent opportunities to practice their home languages in class, their English proficiency flourishes—along with their sense of belonging and identity. “The goal is to be bilingual and bi-literate so that you’ll not only be a contributing citizen, but also be a bridge maker when you speak multiple languages with multiple communities,” explains Efrain.

You can watch this amazing educator at work and hear what his student have to say about him, in the video above. To learn more about studies in translanguaging, you can read this article detailing an explore 2011 study about English language learners and academic achievement. You can also access this article published in 2023 by EdSource which describes why bilingual students do better on tests than native English speakers.

Wisconsin teacher Jeanette Arellano uses art to teach activism

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Have you met this amazing Chalkboard Champion? Her name is Jeanette Arellano. She is an educator, artist, and activist who lives and teaches in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jeanette earned her Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. She teaches art education at Hayes Bilingual School in Milwaukee. There she empowers students to use their creative skills in meaningful and impactful ways. In addition, she organized teacher leaders to successfully advocate with the local school board to ensure that every child in Milwaukee Public Schools has access to art, music, and gym.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Jeanette channels her considerable talent and effort into improving the workplace conditions for the working class and for immigrants. Through the organization Voces de la Frontera, a local immigrant rights organization, she tutors members of the community in English proficiency and literacy, and she prepares them to take the US citizenship exam. She also co-founded Raíces Revolucionarias, a Milwaukee-based women’s collective to focus on the importance of cultural work to strengthen Latino communities.

For this work, Jeanette has garnered the 2023 César Chávez Acción y Compromiso Award, which is one of the awards that falls under the category of Human and Civil Rights Award, from the National Education Association (NEA). In 2019, she received the Milwaukee Catalyst Award from National Americorp program, Public Allies.

To learn more about this remarkable teacher, view this four-minute YouTube video prepared by the NEA.

Briana Morales is named the Illinois 2023 Teacher of the Year

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For her work in helping traumatized and underprivileged minority students, high school English teacher Briana Morales has been named the Illinois 2023Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Illinois Public Media

Many excellent teachers deserve recognition for their work in the classroom. And some of them actually receive it! One of these is Briana Morales, an English teacher from Illinois who has been honored by the Illinois State Dept. of Education.

Briana teaches in East St. Louis at Gordon Bush Alternative Center in St. Louis, Illinois. The facility is an alternative school that serves a majority of Black students from low-income families. Briana is passionate about alternative education. “I think alternative education is representative of the underdog in all of us,” she asserts. “They are the kids that you’re rooting for to turn the tide and be who they want to be with the right resources. These are kids who may have unmet needs and lagging skills, but one caring adult can break the chains for so many children,” she continues. “We have a moral responsibility to ensure that every child has access to equitable experiences that allow them to be their authentic selves, especially in alternative education,” she declares. 

Throughout her career, Briana has been recognized for using writing and poetry to help her students process their experiences of poverty, personal loss, and violence. Her use of poetry as a therapeutic device has roots in her own childhood. “In seventh grade, I was struggling with complex life changes at home and I experienced a lot of trauma as a child,” she reveals. “My teacher at the time tried to equip me with the skills to battle everything that I was going through. She taught me how to write poetry as a way to cope,” she continues. “I wrote my first poetry book in her class and I never stopped writing,” she concludes.

In addition to her Teacher of the Year honors, Briana was named an Early Career Educator of Color by the National Council for Teachers of English in 2021. She has served as a policy fellow, senior fellow, and now a national senior research fellow with Teach Plus, where she has worked on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion for students across the state through culturally responsive initiatives. Additionally, Briana serves on the school board for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, School District 428. Her career as an educator spans six years.

Briana earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education from St. Ambrose University in 2017 and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education. She is currently pursuing a PhD in education policy, organization, and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

To learn more about Briana Morales, click on this link to an article about her published by Chalkbeat.