At Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School, we feel fortunate to hire certified teachers who come to us from Spanish speaking countries around the world and bring diverse cultural perspectives and language expertise. We’d like to introduce you to first grade teacher Lourdes Vazquez who hails from Spain and is truly passionate about teaching and making a difference in the lives of her students. We are grateful for her dedication to our students and so happy she has joined our tuition-free school community. Get to know Ms. Vazquez, in her words:
When did you know you wanted to be an educator?
To be honest, it was not something I had dreamed of as a child. English is a language that has always fascinated me. Initially, I wanted to study translation and interpreting, but it was not a career option that was close to my home, so I decided to study to become an English teacher. It was during the second year of my degree, when I started an internship at a school, that I realized, without a doubt, that I wanted to be an educator.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
I met my favorite teacher in high school biology class. She was my favorite teacher because she brought so much passion to what she was teaching that she made us love the subject. During that time, we all wanted to be biologists just like her…isn't that incredible?
How does the Arco Iris' mission and vision align with your personal values?
A bilingual education cannot be understood without bearing in mind the implicit values of equality, diversity and inclusion, for both the students and the extremely multicultural teaching staff.
What do you love most about your role at Arco Iris?
Sharing my culture and my language with all of the boys and girls in the classroom! In my case, I work with first grade students. Boys and girls, who are in first grade, are typically a lot like sponges and they soak up knowledge quickly and it brings me a lot of pride to support their learning!
What else would you like us to know about YOU?
Working in a different and far away country is not easy. In my case, I have left behind my family and I miss them very much. I am very grateful for the people I have met during this experience who have become part of my family.
If you are interested in the opportunity to have your child attend a tuition-free language immersion school, we have a few spots open for the 2023-24 school year. Join us, and our close-knit family of students and teachers, for a truly exceptional education.
About Arco Iris
Arco Iris Spanish Immersion is a small tuition-free public charter school providing a rich, immersive Spanish language experience and robust academics in a true multicultural setting. Centrally located off 217, between SW Portland and Tigard, we serve K-5 students in the greater Beaverton area to become bilingual and biliterate leaders of the future. Come see why we’ve earned the title Oregon’s #1 charter school. We’re enrolling for Fall 2023-24.