Educator of the Year

SOPHIA AGUIRRE ’19 still remembers her elementary school teachers telling her not to speak Spanish in the classroom. “It got to the point where I was embarrassed to speak Spanish, and I stopped speaking it completely,” she says.

Now an English Language Development teacher at Aloha High School, Aguirre sees multilingualism in her students as a strength, rather than an educational barrier. And she’s being recognized for her approach—she was recently named one of four “Educators of the Year” by OnPoint Credit Union. Educators from Oregon and Washington are eligible for the award, which covers their rent or mortgage for one year and includes a donation to cover classroom costs.

Students who recommended Aguirre for the award describe her as a model teacher whose classroom is supportive and joyful.

“I walked into her room and never wanted to leave,” a former student wrote. “She is sweet, caring, affectionate, empathetic… She is one of the few people that I can go to, to talk to and feel heard.”

For Aguirre, embracing diversity means providing students with opportunities to share their languages and cultures. Describing a recent English language class, she says, “There was a student from Vietnam, one from Honduras, one from Venezuela, and another from Afghanistan. They didn’t speak each other’s languages, and they were just beginning to learn English. But they were all laughing and teaching each other words and phrases from their languages.” In some classrooms, side conversations might be seen as a distraction; Aguirre sees them as opportunities to cultivate connection and belonging. “Learning a language can be silly and weird and difficult at times,” she says, “but it can also be fun and fulfilling.”

TESS WROBLESKI is a freelance writer based in Seattle, Washington. She writes about education, science, technology, and the arts for universities and nonprofits.