Second-grade bilingual teacher Maribel Garcia has impacted not only her students at William Laird Adam Elementary School in Santa Maria, but the district and the community as well. She uses instructional techniques, that help her Spanish-speaking students make the transition to speaking English within the context of curricular study. Mrs. Garcia co-sponsors a Family Literacy Night, bringing together students, families and community representatives for a book fair with activities centered on literacy. She is a member of her site's leadership team, and has helped choose grade-appropriate benchmarks and assessments for all primary teachers in the district. Mrs. Garcia helped develop a garden for the school and community that is now used as a district model for integrating science and language arts in the curriculum. She is also working to build a library to help parents work with their children while furthering their own education.
1990 Azusa Pacific University, M.S.
