 Who is mister hernández? I began my career as an educator at Holy Name Child Care in Topeka, Kansas in August 1988 as the lead teacher for the after school program. My positive experience there led me to change my planned major from business/accounting to elementary education. After three semesters at Washburn University, I transferred to the University of Kansas (Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk!) where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. Returning to Colorado in 1992, I began what is now a nearly twenty-year-long odyssey as an educator, working first as a childcare provider for various organizations throughout the Denver Metro Area and more recently as an elementary school librarian for Denver Public Schools.
This is my first year at University Park Elementary School and I'm extremely excited to join such a tremendous community of learners and the dedicated faculty & staff who have helped make UPark a Denver Public School of distinction. I have endeavored to make the library an inviting space, filling it with dozens of exotic live plants and highly detailed animal replicas, especially numerous amphibians, arthropods and reptiles. Listen for the tweeting birds, pet the venomous snakes (really!), look for an assortment of red dots, blue 2s, yellow squares, and black spots, play a game of chess, and seek out all there is to find.
My goal is to help children everywhere develop a passion for reading and I put great emphasis on sharing terrific tales that encourage young people to think outside themselves and be more curious about the world around them. When I'm not reading, I enjoy cycling, running and swimming, though not necessarily in that order. I also enjoy writing short stories and I've been known to juggle a little, but I'm no better than an amateur at each. Since 2007 I have been a contributor to Community Resources, Inc., which provides gift books to DPS students at family reading nights throughout the school year. I have also been a volunteer reader for the Children's Museum of Denver and the Denver Public Library, but I've had to dramatically reduce the time I give these organizations over the years as I've become more immersed in the field of school librarianship. Keep up with all that's happening at the UPark library by following me on Twitter. The LibraryOur little library can be found on the second floor in the far northwest corner of the building. The library's decor reflects my passion for art and my interest in David A. Carter's wonderful color series, which itself draws upon the work of other well-known artists, including Piet Mondrian and Alexander Calder. There are many soft spaces for the children to sit and share their books with friends or simply curl up by themselves and explore the wonders of a book. The library is ringed with framed posters that call out to everyone...READ!The library's collection is small but growing every month thanks to regular contributions from our wonderful community. We have a much-improved fiction section that features many popular series and singular titles that have earned numerous national book awards. We have approximately 4500 total holdings divided among fiction, nonfiction, E fiction (E is for Everybody!), biography, reference and periodicals. One of my particular joys is sharing stories with the families of UPark students at special readings each month—alternating between Books & Breakfast and Tales@Twilight—where I present some of my favorite picture books and short stories.  |
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