“Be sure to have your rough draft completed for homework. See you tomorrow!” Another typical Wednesday in my classroom comes to an end, and the final bell rings in the hallway. As I shut off the overhead projector and arrange 30 copies of To Kill a Mockingbird on the shelf, it hits me—I am the teacher. Those are my students. How amazing!

Striving for educational equity

At St. Mary’s University, I majored in English language arts and reading with certification to teach grades 8-12. I even had a successful 15 weeks of student teaching at O’Connor High School, part of San Antonio’s Northside Independent School District.

One year ago, I paced back and forth in my dorm room, anxiously reviewing my applications for two well-known and recognized teaching programs: Teach for America and The Alliance for Catholic Education. I researched both programs and planned to submit the applications simultaneously in hopes of getting responses at the same time. After saying a prayer, I clicked “submit” and off they went—two possible outcomes for the beginning of my professional life.

Why did I apply to these teaching programs when I was getting ready to teach anyway? I became interested in The Alliance for Catholic Education because of its partnership with another Catholic school, Notre Dame University. After attending St. Mary’s, I was drawn to the idea of teaching academics and faith side-by-side.

Teach for America, on the other hand, captured my interest for two reasons: I knew two friends from high school who were part of it, and I was drawn to its mission of closing the achievement gap and bringing educational equity to students all over the country.

In the end, I took Teach for America’s offer because I could be part of the San Antonio Charter Corps— the city’s very first Teach for America group in the same city in which I studied education and did my student teaching. What better transition into the professional world than building on an existing foundation? Even though I chose Teach for America, I figured I could exhibit my faith in either program by helping children that need the most guidance. With Teach for America, I felt like I would be able to become a teacher and make a difference.

All Teach for America corps members attend regional induction ceremonies and then integrate with other regions at a teacher-training institute. It was “at institute,” as most corps members refer to it, in Houston that I truly understood what it meant to be part of such a dedicated program.

I arrived at institute knowing that I had more familiarity with the teaching world than other corps members did because I had already completed student teaching. However, what I learned there was essential to the way I see teaching today; it is actually difficult to envision my teaching without it.

The sense of urgency and the idea that effective action must be taken now in order to close the terrifying achievement gap was prevalent throughout my teacher training. In other words, the education background I gained from St. Mary’s, coupled with the inspirational talks from Teach for America leaders, morphed into the most clear and meaningful reason for why I teach.

Challenging students to reach their goals

Eighteen weeks of teaching later, I realize how up close and personally I face the achievement gap every day. I teach English to freshmen at Lanier High School in the San Antonio Independent School District and am responsible for 130 students. Our school is located in the heart of the city, the pride of the west side.

Ninety-nine percent of our students are Hispanic, most at risk of not graduating. Some of my students have been held back a grade or two, and some have just recently been released from a juvenile detention center. A few of my students are expecting a child and some are already parents.

I teach a wide variety of students, but all are welcome in my classroom, no matter from what walks of life they come. The majority of my students want to learn, are eager to understand what English class is all about, and want to be the very first in their family to graduate from high school and go to college.

They ask me, “Ms. Escobedo, why did you leave O’Connor High School and come teach here? That school’s all nice!” I tell them, “I came to Lanier to teach students like you, because you are very much like me. We come from similar backgrounds and have some of the same goals. I’m here because I want to help you reach those goals, no matter what.”

Everyone at our campus tries their very best to help our students succeed, no doubt about that. New administration at Lanier High School is implementing favorable changes that are slowly but surely benefiting our school’s learning environment and student body.

Teaching with passion and an open heart

In my new career as a teacher, I have already learned that teaching is a lifechanging experience. Teachers often choose the profession because of a great teacher they had who left a strong impression, making them desire to repeat the same pattern. Ms. Olivas and Coach Betancourt were those special mentors for me when I attended Hanks High School in El Paso.

During my undergraduate years, Teacher Education Professors Daniel Higgins, Ph.D., and Barry Crist, Ed.D., inspired me as I asked thousands of questions about teaching. And a trio of English professors— Brother Fred Halwe, S.M., Melissa Scully and Kathleen Maloney, Ph.D.—were so passionate about their subject, it often made me wonder how much knowledge could possibly fit into a human body.

Teaching is by far one of the most challenging careers in our society. It requires much time, dedication and heart. I plan to continue teaching at Lanier in hopes that the more students I teach, the more opportunities I will have to convince them that they, too, have the capability to not only set goals, but to actually accomplish them. A teacher once gave me this same piece of advice—needless to say, I took it.

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El Paso native Valeria Escobedo graduated Magna cum laude from St. Mary’s in May 2010. While a student, she kept active in SEAL (Student Educators Association for Dynamic Leadership) and was a President’s Ambassador for three years. Although she teaches 130 students at Lanier, she still finds time to coach junior varsity tennis at the high school.