Judith Huerta

Judíth Huerta was born near the Pacific coast of México, raised in Los Angeles, CA, and has lived in Oklahoma City for almost 18 years. Huerta is a proud Clara Luper Scholar who graduated from Oklahoma City University as an undocumented student with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Photography. It wasn’t until after she started working with the district as the Community Resource Coordinator with English Language Services, and roaming the hallways of the schools, that she realized she wanted to be a principal. With the help of the pipeline program and meeting the requirements for the two-year renewable work authorization known as D.A.C.A., she was able to attain her Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Now, she is better known as Ms. Huerta to the staff at Taft Middle School and is one of ten English Language Development teachers as well as the coordinator of the department. This is her fourth year as a teacher and is better known to her newcomer students as Miss, which is usually repeated three or four times depending on their mood. The students and their families have come from countries like Afghanistan, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Myanmar, Vietnam, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cuba, Philippines, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda.

This is the second year her students have grown their own plants inside the classroom and get to take them home at the end of the year. The plant is a visual representation of how they are growing with their learning in school. Her classroom usually involves learning through games, gifs, and hand gestures. She often finds herself asking her students for 5 dollars just to have them practice denying the ask in English.

When she mispronounces words during class, it is often followed by blabbing of the word. Ms. Huerta is grateful to her family for providing examples of tenacity, perseverance, empathy, and humor. She is grateful to her mentors who have served as role models, provided support, and guidance. And lastly, Ms. Huerta is forever grateful to the students who have filled her bucket just as much, if not more, as she may have filled theirs.