Alice E. López teaches first-graders in a bilingual, special education inclusion classroom at Western Hills Elementary School in Denver. Mrs. López is widely involved in restructuring efforts to ensure that second-language learners and students with special needs are provided with opportunities to achieve high academic standards. Through her participation in Family Math and Family Science, programs designed to promote knowledge acquisition as a family pursuit, Mrs. López has had the opportunity to affect many lives in her community. For example, 196 families enrolled in the district-wide Family Math mini-conference she recently coordinated. She is also currently piloting ¡Si Puedo!, an early-intervention literacy program. In 1995, Mrs. López was invited to join a U.S./A.I.D. (U.S. Agency for International Educational Development) team that worked on the implementation of educational reforms in Managua, Nicaragua.
