Growing Our Own
Through the TAFE program and the CTE Center, Crowley ISD is creating an educator pipeline Written by Megan Middleton Three Crowley ISD graduates and friends who participated in future educator training programs while in high school are back in the district and beginning their journeys as elementary school teachers. Jacqueline Garcia-Medrano, a pre-k Montessori bilingual teacher at Sue Crouch Elementary; Nicole Santangelo, a first-grade teacher at June W. Davis Elementary; and Dina Zatar, a fifth-grade math and reading teacher at Deer Creek Elementary, came home to Crowley ISD in 2019 and 2020 after graduating from North Crowley High School in 2015. As CISD students, they participated in Education and Training CTE courses and the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) program. “When I think about my time in high school, the memories I made in TAFE are definitely at the top of the list of my favorite things,” Santangelo said. TAFE allows students to compete across the region, state and nation with projects related to lesson planning, public speaking and portfolios. In Education and Training classes, students can intern in elementary classrooms and gain hands-on experience. “Getting those observations, interacting with the students and building relationships with them really made me realize that’s something I wanted to do,” Santangelo said. Garcia-Medrano, Santangelo and Zatar served as TAFE officers together and built a lifelong friendship based on their shared love of children and teaching, their CTE teacher Bobette Vroon said. “My goal for them was to leave high school knowing exactly what they are going to do and be 100 percent prepared when they got into college to make sure that dream of teaching became a reality for each one of them — and it did,” said Vroon, their TAFE adviser and Education and Training teacher. “They are making a difference, and that makes me extremely proud.” All three women praised Vroon for her guidance and encouragement. “I’m so thankful for my time in TAFE and working with Ms. Vroon, because without her and her impacting me and inspiring me, I would not be a teacher,” Santangelo said. “She really believed in me and pushed me.” Starting their education careers during a global pandemic isn’t exactly what these teachers imagined their first years in education to be like, but they are rising to meet the challenge. “I’ve had to think out of the box about how can we still be safe and keep our students healthy but keep them engaged and having fun and learning at the same time,” 6
CROWLEY ISD CONNECTIONS | Summer 2019
Santangelo said. “It’s been challenging but worth it for the students.” Zatar and Garcia-Medrano also said virtual teaching has helped them learn new skills. “You have to find the good in everything,” GarciaMedrano said. “It has been very challenging … but you just have to realize this is what’s happening, let’s make the best of it and try to give (the students) as much as you can.” Despite the challenges of a pandemic, the trio said their favorite part of teaching is interacting with students and watching their progress. “I enjoy that feeling of accomplishment I get when a struggling student gets it,” Zatar said. “I just like their thoughts, their imagination, just everything about my students. It just makes my heart so full.” Zatar said she is excited to come to work each day because of the impact she knows she can have. “I feel like I’m taking part in shaping the next generation,” she said. Garcia-Medrano is thankful she was able to return to CISD to launch her career. “I wanted to come back to Crowley ISD because it felt like a family, like a very small community,” she said. “The teachers really paid attention to you. They really took care of you as a student, and I wanted to be a part of something like that. I knew there were other places, especially this being a super big Metroplex, but this is like a home to me. I’m glad that I’m here, and I’m definitely going to stay for a long time.” If you are a Crowley ISD graduate and would like to be featured in our Hometown Pride series on social media, send an email to news@crowley.k12.tx.us.
