Ms. Kimberly Lamadrid is one of Pueblo High School’s new counselors, although this is not her first counseling position; she transferred from Lawrence Middle School after a year.
Lamadrid said that she was attracted to Pueblo because of its Latino community.
“I have immigrant parents, and I understand the different struggles of people,” said Lamadrid.
Like most employees at Pueblo, Lamadrid said that her work has been affected by Covid-19, and contacting students and their families has been challenging.
“I really miss the interaction between my students and me,” Lamadrid said.
When not helping students succeed, she coached Pueblo’s cross country earlier this semester.
“At least I got to interact with students during this [cross country] activity!” Lamadrid said.
Lamadrid said that running has always been a part of her life. During her middle school years, she would run around her neighborhood for fun, and later in high school she joined the cross country team; she even continued to run during her college years.
Despite the challenges of communicating online, Lamadrid said that she does see a future at Pueblo.
“I want to stay here as long as I can because the Pueblo community is a very exciting place.”
by Ismael Angulo, Getsemani Cazares and Easther Zazueta
Among the two dozen or so new teachers and staff members at Pueblo High School this school year, Ms. Taylor Hall is PHS’s newest math teacher—Algebra I to Freshmen, and Algebra to Response to Intervention (RTI) Freshmen and Sophomores.
Hall grew up in Iowa, but she moved to California to earn her undergraduate degree at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Immediately following completion of her bachelor’s degree, she attended Stanford University where she earned her graduate degree. Hall looked for a teaching position in California, but she said that she did not find the “right fit”. Taylor moved to Tucson because she had family here, and she decided to try to find a job in Southern Arizona.
“Mr. Rosthenhausler [principal of Pueblo] reached out and asked me to interview,” Hall said. “The more I looked at Pueblo, I felt like the culture really matched where I wanted to be.”
Hall, like all teachers at Pueblo thus far this school year, have been teaching online. She said that she will gladly return to the classroom when it is safe for her and her students, but unlike many teachers, Hall seems to have a positive outlook regarding online instruction.
“I really like teaching online,” she said. “I really enjoy using the technology and the tools to teach with the computer.”
Hall has some advice for seniors applying to colleges.
“I never got to know any of my high school teachers very well,” Hall said, “and getting letters of recommendation was very hard. I recommend that students choose teachers they get along with and like—and to keep those relationships continuing because they might need them even after the school year is over.”
We lost our fair share of teachers at the end of the last school year—many to retirements and transfers. These vacancies had to be filled, and so Pueblo High School has many new teachers for the 2020-21 school year.
One of these new educators is Ms. Sibel Duzenli, who is teaching beginning and advanced art.
“I am so excited to be at Pueblo,” she said. “I already think Pueblo is an amazing school, and all of the teachers I have met are kind and hard-working people.”
Duzenli has not always been an art teacher. In fact, she began her teaching career at a summer camp math class teaching elementary school students in her native British Columbia, Canada. She then moved to Tucson to pursue her master’s degree in Art and Visual Culture Education.
“I got tired of the rainy weather in B.C.,” she said, “and combined with the fact that my husband is from Tucson, we made the decision to come to Arizona.”
After moving to Southern Arizona, Duzenli taught at an alternative program in TUSD. Afterwards, she started teaching art for middle school students. Then, she made the transition to high school students at Pueblo.
“I always loved school, and I respected my teachers for their hard work,” she said.
Duzenli said that her teachers were excellent role models, and she was inspired by their professionalism.
“Art was always my favorite subject, and if the world did not have art, our planet would be a sadder, less joyful place,” she said. “I really believe that art helps students express themselves and to learn more about themselves—and others.” She paused and added, “I want to help students with that self-learning process.”
Duzenli said, “I think art is an incredible way for humans to express themselves, and I want to be a part of making that possible [for students].”
“I felt pretty sad in the beginning of the year knowing I wasn’t going to meet students in person,” said Duzenli. “But I am still really excited to be here at Pueblo.”
She thinks that students should remember that high school is an opportunity to grow, meet new people and make mistakes.
“We’re living through a very significant time in history,” Duzenli said, “and we’re learning so much as a culture and as human beings. I know online instruction isn’t going to last forever, and I can’t wait to share the same space as my students.”
She added, “Even though it’s a very overwhelming time, it’s very heartening to know that we’re all going through this strange time together,” she added. “So even though we feel disconnected sometimes, I often feel more connected because we’re in this history—together.”
Despite the unusual circumstances of this school year—teaching online for the foreseeable future—Pueblo High School still has its share of new teachers and staff, including Ms. Lucero Ramirez, who is teaching freshman English.
Ramirez, who said that she would rather teach in person than online because students could do more activities in the classroom, said that she will make the most out of ZOOM sessions.
“It’s been very stressful teaching online,” Ramirez said. “It’s very complicated, but I am getting the hang of it.”
Ramirez is happy to return to Pueblo because it’s her alma mater. She graduated in 2016, just four years ago, and said that even after she graduated, she didn’t want to leave.
“It’s good to be back home and being the teacher this time,” she said.
She added that she chose to become an English teacher because of her positive experiences in her own high school English classes.
“I loved writing in high school,” Ramirez said, “and I want to share that love with students.”
She added, “Ms. [Kelly] Crane [who retired from Pueblo several years ago] inspired me to become an English teacher because she was always understanding, patient and thoughtful. She really took the time to coach and mentor me. I really loved going to her class every day.
Ramirez said that she is happy to have chosen education as a career, but she said that she wishes public education would invest more money and time to have more resources to address students’ emotional and mental issues.
“I think that a student’s overall well-being is a critical factor in their academic success. I think we would start seeing more enthusiasm for learning from our students.”
Online or back in the classroom, Ramirez said that she is very enthusiastic about beginning her teaching career at Pueblo.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, nearly 300 Pueblo High School students crammed into six buses and traveled to downtown Tucson’s magnificently renovated Fox Theater to view the premiere of Bill, a play-turned-movie recalling the much celebrated life of Mr. Bill De La Rosa, a class of 2012 graduate, whose academic and young career accolades rival some of the most successful people in the United States.
For many
Pueblo students, this trip was more than a 10-minute bus ride to downtown
Tucson; it was an opportunity to be inspired by their fellow Warrior.
Sophomore
Xavier Carassco said, “I really like how the movie portrayed Bill as not being happy
with the way he was living and how he changed his life to make it amazing. He
added, “Bill shows that there are no excuses.”
De La Rosa was present at the Fox Theatre– as this was his first peak at the film. He gladly greeted many students from several schools at this event. Also, TUSD School Board members and prominent local leaders were eager to support the success of De La Rosa.
The Lapan Foundation leaders were present as well and spoke about how their organization helps students become engaged in their education. When De La Rosa was a sophomore, he became a mentor to middle school students and helped guide them to successful paths in high school—leading to collegiate successes.
All of the
children who acted in Bill are members of the Lapan Foundation. They are
part of the group’s Theater Club, and for the past year or so, they have been
preparing this film.
Senior Danielle Rojas was one of those Lapan Foundation members that played a small role in the film.
“It
was really cool to be a part of the movie, Bill,” said Rojas, “and re-enacting
these parts of Bill’s life helped me become more understanding of the
circumstances of those around me and to become more accepting.”
This trip would not have been possible without three weeks of careful and meticulous planning from Pueblo counselor Dr. Teresa Toro, who also recalls De La Rosa in his early high school years at Pueblo. In the movie, there is a brief scene depicting De La Rosa speaking with a counselor.
“Bill is definitely a role model for the Latino community,” Toro said. “This movie was more than just a movie about Bill De La Rosa—it’s a story about resiliency and beating the odds.”
Pueblo High School’s 21st Century Community Learning Center, also known as CCLC, has been a five-year program helping students excel in their school work and to catch up with their credits. However, the program had its budget cut from $140,000 to $100,000 this year and next year. This is year five, and Pueblo has to reapply next year for another five-year cycle to fund the program with $100,000.
Ms. Mary
Wallace, the coordinator of the program, said, “It’s [the budget cuts are] very
difficult, and all of it comes out of instruction, but Pueblo got lucky this
year because we got an enhancement grant to put in a maker space.”
The
enhancement grant will cover the budget cut, boosting the program’s budget back
up to $140,000.
Wallace
said, “The students would not have seen as many classes offered, and we
wouldn’t have as many tutors. Last year we had 22 employees, and we spent every
dime of our budget on those 22 employees.”
She added
that losing that money from a student’s perspective would prompt a decrease in
grades and G.P.A rates among the students in the program since less activities
would be offered.
The
program has had a great impact on students.
Senior
Desiree Martin is currently making up her freshman credits for English and
Algebra 1.
“During my
freshman year, I struggled a lot,” Martin said. “The CCLC program is helping me
to graduate in the spring. I can’t believe that this program may not exist in
the future. Even if there are budget cuts, it’s going to affect a lot of our
students at Pueblo. CCLC is the perfect opportunity to catch up with credits-
especially for us seniors.”
Michael
Rodriguez, a senior who is also in the CCLC program, said, “I’m so relieved that I have the extra
time and help I didn’t have in class. This program has allowed me to take my
time and understand the content.”
Wallace
wants students to know that they can still enroll in the CCLC program. The program
does not have a cap regarding the number of students enrolled.
“Grades 9
and 10 are our primary
focus,” Wallace said, “We do not have a limit, we have a goal, and we need to
have 120 students who attend at least 30 days or more.”
Wallace
wants to ensure that the program will continue successfully after she decides
to retire.
She said, “It’s important
for me to teach another person how to apply for the grant and take over as the
new CCLC coordinator so that the program can carry on.”
