This week, we celebrated four outstanding teachers in our community.  

Each day, these four teachers go above and beyond to ensure their students have what they need to be successful. 

Mrs. Lilian Williams brings art workshops and medical lab researchers into her classroom so her students can learn about the world and their future career options. 

And she doesn’t limit these opportunities to only her classroom—she always stretches grant dollars to offer them to all the students at her school. 

Like Ms. Erika Acosta said in her award acceptance speech, “We do these things because we genuinely care about our students.” 

She regularly spends her free time helping Spanish-speaking parents with their taxes and has even bought shoes for her student-athletes when their parents couldn’t. 

Mrs. Margaret Gallego has dedicated almost five decades of her life to bilingual education, ensuring Latino children today have what she didn’t as a child: speaking Spanish at school without getting punished. 

And with the annual Fiesta de las Flores celebration, she empowers her students by encouraging them to maintain and build connections to their rich cultural heritage. 

Some of these teachers, like Mr. Gabriel Robles, give up sleep to get up early and pick up students for practice. They give up their lunch to tutor students. They give up their weekends to fine-tune their lesson plans and make sure they’re culturally and personally relevant. 

Encouraged by the example of the great leaders of the past, these students will likewise overcome great challenges, paving the way for future generations. 

Because, like he said, “What’s a teacher’s middle name? Sacrifice.” 

Beyond teaching PEMDAS or how the US acquired its southwestern states, these four Latino teachers give our children hope that we can build a better tomorrow together. 

Sometimes, the journey may seem difficult. Like our dreams are just out of reach. 

And whenever a student, whether struggling to cross the finish line on the track or in the classroom, wants to give up, Mr. Robles is there to remind them, “No, sí se puede—nomás hace falta querer.” (No, you can do it—you just need to want it.) 

All you need are ganas. The will to do something. 

But you don’t need to be a teacher to make an impact. 

To the college students in our community who have ganas, you can provide a scholarship. 

To the parents who want to give their newborn a head start, you can prepare them to support and be their child’s first teachers. 

To the mother who wants to provide for her family, you can help her access evening English and GED classes while her children participate in fun, educational activities at our community center. 

To the eight-year-old boy who wants to become an astronaut, you can give him a free laptop and internet connection so he can complete his homework. 

Please consider making a gift to one of CPLC’s education programs to support the educational dreams of people in our community. 

Together, vamos a seguir adelante. 

We will build that better tomorrow. 

Thank you to our presenting sponsors who make the Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards possible: Cox Communications and SRP. Thank you also to our sponsors Southwest Airlines, Amazon, and HUB. 

Con mucho cariño, 

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