Autobiography

Growing up as a first-generation Latino was a challenge because I was struggling to understand my sexual orientation. Gender identity was never discussed in my household yet alone in the school system I was a part of. While attending Atwater Elementary (LAUSD), I was constantly bullied due to my sexual orientation. Granted, trying to walk with flair or walk like my female friends wasn’t seen as the norm for a male youth in the '90s. When I told my teacher about this, all he offered was a dismissive “stop being a tattle-tale.”

As a 3rd grader, questioning his own gender identity, I developed the false notion that adults were not people to confide in due to a lack of support towards a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Isolation and fear were common feelings while attending a public institution causing me to assimilate into what society deems a male should be. That unsupportive school experience has inspired me to become a social justice leader ensuring that marginalized groups on-campus have a voice and are supported in their endeavors.

The school I currently work at, Polytechnic High, has a Gay-Straight Alliance club but for some, it is a club in the shadows. There are hardly any announcements, activities, or welcome mixers to garner support for LGBTQ+ students. Contreras Learning Complex, the school I helped to build and worked at for 12 years, organizes a “Day of Silence” event to commemorate those who are unable to disclose their identity and to protest harassment/discrimination against LGBTQ students. Having worked at an inner-city and San Fernando Valley school, I have been privileged to implement and experience programs that maximize opportunity in urban schools that can improve learning and ultimately help redefine school culture at my new school site. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed off many interactions and support groups to help create a space where LGBTQ+ students can meet and talk about issues that matter to them. That is why I partnered with the health teacher, Ms. Wolfson, and created an online Zoom room where LGBTQ+ students can meet up. The club’s name, which was created by the group, is called Eskape and Freedom. According to my student who identifies as a male transgender teen, the club is for LGBTQ+ things you don’t normally learn in your classes and supports each other with anything and everything LGBTQ+.

Now back to my teenage years, at the age of 14, I worked vigorously selling chocolates door-to-door to purchase food and clothes, and became responsible for raising my younger brother which allowed me to mature faster than my peers. In high school, I became the 9th Grade Class President and was involved with Student Government for two years, helping out during Parent Conference Nights and community events. My family received welfare and we were on Section 8, which is a similar situation to many of the students I teach today. Several students and their families are recently arrived immigrants, just like my parents. My parents, who value the importance of education, were not able to provide academic support. This is also similar to many of the parents in urban schools who aren’t equipped with tools to help their children succeed. An important part of my life is the acceptance to college which was in part by the Cal State University, Los Angeles’s Outreach Program. The outreach program works with students above a 2.0 GPA and helps ensure their A-G requirements are met and creates a plan for college admission. If it wasn’t for the Outreach Recruiter, I probably would not have made up the “D” in AP English Language or applied for EOP which all contributed to my admission, graduation, and success at a university.

I became a high school math teacher in 2006. Thanks to the district intern program in LAUSD, I was able to start teaching right after college and save money by not having to pay for a credentialing program. My vision of a perfect math teacher was seen in the Movie Stand and Deliver. Little did I know that education is more complex than asking students to chant a song or recite formulas as seen in that movie. In order to expand my knowledge in mathematics and to improve my teaching practice and learning of my students, I decided to pursue a rigorous National Board Certification. In 2013, I achieved my certification which validated my work as a social justice leader - high school math instruction through a constructivist approach paired with Project-Based Learning has allowed me to deepen the learning of all my students and reach academic success. AP Readiness at UCLA has helped my inner-city students pass the AP Calculus exam through sharing best teaching practices and honing in on skills students need to achieve content mastery. In 2014, I took over the AP Calculus AB program at Contreras Learning Complex when I found out only one student passed the College Board’s exam in ten years. I am proud to say that in two years, I had ten students pass the exam, of which two students obtained the highest score possible, a five. That following year, I had my first female students pass the exam.

Fast forward to my current position at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School - I was hired in the Magnet program in the Fall of 2018 and was excited to teach Calculus but when I found out I was supposed to teach both AB and BC in 1 year and that the students were going to take the BC exam I was worried how I could teach since I had no preparation for teaching the BC curriculum. I voluntarily made a decision to enroll myself in Math 5B (equivalent to Calculus BC) at Pasadena City College the Summer before teaching at Poly High to provide my students with a knowledgeable instructor and prepare them for success in that exam. I am proud to say that one of the students that passed the AP Calculus BC exam that year had autism and was a first-generation Latino. Despite the challenges he faced to achieve, he was met with support (peer and teacher afterschool tutoring) to ensure his academic success.

I aspire to become an administrator at an urban school and advocate for marginalized students while working with parents and faculty to foster a supportive learning environment to promote academic success. One example that stands out for me was when I worked at Contreras Learning Complex, a school that contained four “small schools” within the campus and each school had its own principal. Certain administrators were unsupportive of student’s needs and insensitive to the activities of the other small schools within the campus. As a result, administrators created tension between students and teachers, by scheduling conflicting activities. Events such as fundraisers, lunchtime spirit activities, Grad Night, and school dances were slowly being eliminated from school culture. In one instance, all four Principals came to my classroom after school to let me know a school dance would be canceled due to lack of supervision because eight teachers were required to supervise a dance. As the Student Government teacher helping students plan activities, I was saddened to know those principals would much rather cancel a dance than try and secure faculty assistance to foster activities that promote positive school culture. After that meeting, I knocked on several classroom doors pleading with teachers to supervise a dance. I am proud to say the dance occurred.

While teaching at Poly High, I was shocked to find out teachers were not required to chaperone dances and wondered why public schools in the same district have different policies regarding school activities. All school stakeholders should be afforded quality learning experiences and opportunities where they feel a sense of community and belonging. As a social justice leader, I plan to advocate for all school constituents so educational achievement is possible. One of my memorable moments while teaching at Contreras was looping with my Advisory class. Advisory allowed me the opportunity to help my students with college/career planning and life skills. An impactful moment was when three of my Advisory students were not able to graduate with their peers because they earned an “F” in English. There were two weeks left in the grading period but their English teacher was not willing to make any modifications or accommodations to help support their learning needs. Those students ended up repeating English 12 that Summer and participated in a special district-sponsored graduation. I was saddened to know the principal, counselor, lead teacher, and school staff were not present at their graduation considering those students were part of that Contreras Learning community.

I currently sponsor the Students Run LA program at my school where students participate in training to run the Los Angeles Marathon. In 2019, we had 8 students complete the Los Angeles Marathon, 2020 we had 31 students complete the Los Angeles Marathon, and currently, we have 10 students who have been training virtually due to COVID-19 and plan to complete a marathon or similar long-distance event in March 2021. I praise students publicly online via our school platform Schoology and acknowledge student’s effort when they complete a huge milestone - 5, 10, 15 miles. Positive praise, along with parent and faculty support has helped to maintain a strong program which I seek to duplicate as I lead other initiatives and programs at my current school site.