5th Grade - Math, Science, Religious Education

I was granted an amazing opportunity to use my Spanish / Bilingual Education background and all the invaluable teaching methods and tools I learned from so many great colleagues over the years, to help, not only my students with their educational needs, but to help my fellow teachers and administrators, as well. As teachers assessed and tested students, as they observed their students to determine their needs, I then was responsible for helping those individual students strengthen their independent, academic needs using a variety of methods. I pulled students individually, in small groups or worked in the classroom alongside the teacher to help those students who had a need for extra help. I taught Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Computer Science, as well as Social Studies to any child from K - 5. Some students required help in one subject area while others required help in two or three. I assessed students throughout the year in order to determine their growth. I created and implemented a method to keep track of each student, their growth, what learning tools they needed to strengthen and was able to plan day to day lessons for each child in an organized fashion. I was responsible for meeting and sharing with administrators, as well as parents, several times throughout the year, each student's growth, their individual achievements, a plan to continue working with them or to exit a student from Bilingual Support as they achieved grade level success. I attended third grade level meetings each week and I attended several training workshops in order to better understand and help dyslexic students whose primary language was Spanish. Dyslexia presents itself quite differently in each language. It is imperative to determine a student's individual needs and work to help them achieve independent goals. I was able to learn techniques to help Spanish speaking dyslexic students by using a variety of tools and techniques.

Having just separated from the Navy and no longer a military wife who was constantly moving, I truly enjoyed teaching at Holy Spirit. I love teaching and helping our children reach their goals. I used my years of training, all I learned from others and everything I learned through teaching to help my students grow and achieve their independent goal. I continued the Guided, Shared and Independent Reading and Writing model of teaching, as it was just being introduced in Texas schools. I was successful in helping my students improve on their reading and writing skills, most importantly, comprehension. Reading is not simply a matter of phonetics, but comprehension. Even as adults, we don't always comprehend what we read. We must rely on our background knowledge. Through assessment and testing, I was able to determine the amount of growth and continue to plan in order to close gaps in their learning. A hands on approach in Science and Social Studies is key to a child's success in learning. An added benefit was being able to teach religion (Catholicism) as part of the curriculum. This curriculum was an amazing gateway for learning, as well as a crucial tool for teaching. My students learned to ask profound, important questions, to think deeply, to share, to listen and to debate professionally without fear and respectfully. My students learned compassion, tolerance, the importance of faith and hard work. We attended mass weekly, a wonderful way to reflect each week. I worked with my grade-level team to plan using State Standards, maintained records, learned and implemented technology into the curriculum, planned and trained the staff on assigned topics and was selected to be the school wide, after school reading and math tutor Monday through Thursday for the year.

Due to a change in school attendance boundaries, many Mireles Elementary students would attend a brand new, modern, technologically advanced school within their boundary lines. I was chosen as one of the teachers to be able to open and teach during its first year of establishment. I worked under the guidance of an amazing administrator and alongside extremely talented teachers. I taught all aspects of Language Arts to almost sixty students. I also was responsible for teaching our four 3rd grade classes (over 75 students) Spanish once a week. I was part of a Shared Teaching Program. My partner teacher was responsible for Math, Science and Social Studies. I was responsible for regular assessments, testing, attending required, as well as elective, training seminars throughout the year and summer and maintaining student records as well as documenting independent needs and goals achieved. I attended weekly, grade-level meetings to plan the following week's lessons and be consistent in our teaching, as well as to ensure we were meeting grade level standards. I was assigned a student teacher whom I guided and helped learn the many important teaching techniques, as well as the importance of knowing each student individually. I was also able to show the importance of being part of a great team. As my husband separated from the Navy, we moved to San Antonio and left behind a great school, a great team and an amazing experience.

As an Immersion Teacher at the 3rd grade level, I worked alongside my partner teacher to teach students in both classrooms Math, Science, Social Studies and Technology, while my partner taught Language Arts. I taught my core subjects to monolingual, English speaking students, in Spanish. The learning of a new language through academics, helped students use both sides of the brain in the long run. An Immersion Program is properly implemented beginning in Kindergarten and through the student's years in school, at times through their senior year. I attended grade level-meetings weekly, planned as a team, attended educational conferences throughout the year and summer, ensured achievement of grade-level teaching standards, maintained student records, administered the TAKS test and continually held Student / Parent Conferences.

Having greatly enjoyed teaching, as well as learning, for many years in both California and Texas, I know that my most important and gratifying job in life is that of mother to Eloy and Alexandria for 21 and 18 years, respectively. I strive to guide, give, grow and learn each and every day. I listen, counsel, love deeply, teach and give respect and always work as a member of a great team. I am mother, chauffeur, banker, accountant, teacher, manager, nurse, counselor and the greatest defender of my beautiful children and students. We live, we grow, we falter, we learn, always with the deepest love possible. I am blessed each and every day.

As the 3rd grade, shared teaching, ESL / Bilingual teacher at my school site, I was responsible for teaching all Language Arts, as well as Social Studies, to both 3rd grade classrooms. I was responsible for an average of 55 to 60 students. I continued to use my training through the California Education System in Guided, Shared and Independent Reading and Writing to assess and help my students grow and reach their reading, writing and social studies skills. This program had just been adopted by the Texas Education System. Teachers would be trained, beginning that year. I was given the responsibility of answering any questions for my peers and was used as an observation training classroom. As a teacher, I was also responsible for grade-level meetings and planning, teaching while achieving grade-level standards, administering the state adopted TAKS test, maintaining student records, presenting to staff members on assigned topics and holding Student / Parent Conferences throughout the year.

As an ESL Kindergarten teacher at Bird Rock Elementary, I was honored and proud to have achieved the award as "Teacher of the Year". I continued to implement the Guided, Shared and Independent Reading and Writing Program. I also taught Science, Social Studies and Math using the hands on approach. I assessed each student individually and using leveled and ever-changing groups, I was very successful in teaching my students and watching them read, write and apply their math, science and social studies skills at a high level, as seen in assessments given throughout the year. I was also responsible for training my colleagues in how to implement the Guided, Shared and Independent Reading and Writing Program. My use of a leveled library within my classroom was a key component in the success of my students' growth. I was a model classroom where teachers from my campus, as well as other campuses throughout the district, came to observe how I implemented the Guided, Shared and Independent Program and how I used my leveled library. My students were independently able to transition from one group to another, to rotate and to ultimately know their expectations and strive to reach their individual goals. I taught an after-school reading program to students of all grade levels, I attended grade level meetings weekly, helped team planning, maintained district records and held student / parent conferences throughout the year.

During my first years teaching, I worked as an ESL and Bilingual teacher for grades K-4. I had the pleasure of teaching at Sherman Elementary, an inner city school in San Diego, California. My responsibilities went beyond the classroom, as do all teacher's, whether in an inner city school or not. We serve students from every walk of life. As a teacher, my key role was to assess my students, teach each student at their level and as individuals and ultimately, assess their growth. I was trained and implemented a Guided, Shared and Independent reading and writing program. Teaching Science, Social Studies, as well as Math, using a hands on approach was the model used in my classroom. I was also responsible for before and after school tutoring, I was an interpreter for families of a second language and administrators. I was responsible, not only for their educational needs, but for knowing their needs, whether emotional, nutritional or physical. I kept and maintained their personal, educational files and ensured I was meeting grade level standards. I also hold a Masters of Education in Multilingual Education in the Multicultural Classroom.