Teacher Of The Year Inspires Students To Innovate And Explore

From LVUSD: During free play in Arroyo Seco Elementary’s makerspace, first grade students scatter across the room with their favorite activities. Their teacher, Elizabeth Perez, is manifesting virtual objects out of thin air with Merge Cubes, helping students navigate their Dash robots through a maze, and guiding a student through making change at a virtual cash register with an iPad and Osmo device. Zooming across the room, keeping pace with all the robots and first graders, is no small feat, but Perez has home-court advantage; the room in which her students now create was itself created from her vision.

“Mrs. Perez is the sole reason we have a makerspace on campus,” said Arroyo Seco Principal Gatee Esmat in her remarks honoring Perez as Educator of the Year during the Livermore Management Association’s (LMA) Annual Awards Breakfast on May 9th. “She goes above and beyond to make sure her students’ needs are met and that they are truly learning.”

Beginning with a humble cart of materials in her classroom, Perez sought a permanent place on campus where all students could continue to explore and create as they advanced out of her class. “She spearheaded the campaign to acquire makerspace materials,” said Esmat, who arrived at Arroyo Seco for the 2017-18 school year, as the development of the makerspace was underway. Starting with requests through DonorsChoose, Perez received enough supplies to fill a room. When Principal Esmat arrived, Perez lobbied for the makerspace she was envisioning and Esmat fully supported the project. Perez continued gathering supplies and gained additional support from parents and the school’s PTA. She applied for grants for materials, earning many, including the LVJUSD Technology Innovator Grant, to help inspire students with the use of new technology.

Perez’s commitment to making her vision a reality led to the transformation of a storage room into a fruitful makerspace enjoyed by the entire school. “I wanted a way for the kids to be free to innovate,” said Perez. “These activities are a great way to engage younger learners.” Giving her students the space to learn through play provided a variety of avenues by which students could master the skills they were being taught in regular lessons. The activities are so engaging, added Perez, “They don’t even realize they’re teaching themselves.”

On May 30th, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe – joined by Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) Board Trustee Yvonne Cerrato, Principal Esmat, and District Superintendent Dr. Kelly Bowers – visited Perez’s classroom to present her with an ACOE Teacher of the Year certificate for her superlative efforts throughout the school. In addition to organizing the makerspace, she has held trainings to support other teachers’ use of the room and arranged after-school challenges with other school sites that implement the variety of materials Perez has brought into the room for coding, 3D printing, and green screen projects.

When Monroe asked Perez’s students why they thought their teacher was being honored, one student confidently declared, “She created our makerspace.” Her recognitions by the LMA and the County are an inspiration to each student who experiences the thrill of discovery and creating something new at Arroyo Seco’s makerspace. The room itself is proof that students’ imaginations can produce something real, and the determination of Perez, proof that their teachers will show them how.

Image Via LVUSD