Sylvia Padilla
4th Grade Bilingual Teacher in Long Beach, CA
Sylvia Padilla has been a bilingual teacher at Patrick Henry K-8 School in the Long Beach Unified District since 1991. In 1989, she was part of a parent grass roots group that pioneered program at Patrick Henry meant to put bilingual students on equal footing with their peers, helping them achieve academically as well as value their cultural heritage. The start of Patrick Henry’s Two Way Bilingual Immersion Program began with sixty kindergarten and first grade students, and today has grown to a school-wide k-8 program of over 700 students. Señora Padilla now teaches fourth grade. She has been awarded Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year and The California Association of Bilingual Education Teacher of the Year for collaborating at the school, district and state level to improve instruction, implementation and assessment of state standards in English and Spanish. Sylvia earned her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies and a master’s in elementary education-reading and language arts from California State University Long Beach. In 2012, Sylvia was selected as a White House Champion of Change by the President’s Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
Why do you teach?
I teach because I love to learn. I teach with my heart, understanding that every child who crosses my path is important. Every student must be given the opportunity to reach their potential.
What I love about being a teacher is that I get to listen to students’ thinking. My favorite saying is “Cada cabeza es un mundo”. “Each head is a world of its own”. Every child brings in knowledge that is to be shared and respected. My role is to guide them, but every single one of my students is a teacher in my classroom.
What do you love about teaching?
I was inspired to be a teacher because I had hard-working parents who instilled in me the importance of education. My parents did not have the opportunities we have in this great nation. They instilled in all my brothers and sister a sense of pride in our Mexican heritage, as well as the importance of hard work. If we worked hard, we would be able to reach our dreams. I tell my students every day that I am happy to see them, because I am living my dream.
When you were a student, was there a great teacher who inspired you?
I also had tough and caring teachers who made me work hard. I will never forget Mr. and Mrs. Sloan, who taught me English at Van Nuys Jr. High School. They encouraged me to improve and move into mainstream programs quickly. In Van Nuys High School, the special education teacher, Marc Stephens took the time to encourage many of us to strive for a college education. He started the ballet folklorico club and took any of us who were interested to see university campuses. Many of us continued our studies and among us are teachers, school administrators, and college presidents. Thanks to this man, who took the time to encourage me and even got my sister and I our first jobs as college aides, I continued to dream.
Yet the person who truly helped me the most was my husband. He was a teacher, and when I married him, he became my support. I attended school at night because I was a young mother. My husband Rogelio would take over parenting duties so that I could reach my dream. The day after I had our first daughter, along with the car seat, he also brought a letter from Long Beach State and told me I could now transfer and pursue my dream. That kind of support and belief gave me the strength to never give up. It took seven more years to finally have my own classroom.
I am truly living my dream every day!
