Member Profiles

  • 17 Sep Hispanic Heritage Month Feature: Ann Franco

    Hispanic DCTA leader, Ann Franco is a Northside Denver native and a career-long DPS teacher of 31 years. Fourteen years ago, Ann began teaching at Colfax elementary, a school close to her heart because it is located in the same community in which she grew up. Ann is a strong well-trusted DCTA member within her building and respected mentor in our DCTA community....

  • 14 Aug Anna Noble, East High School

    Above: East High School science teacher Anna Noble   ?I really love teaching. I just can?t afford to do it anymore.?   Anna Noble has two master?s degrees, 15+ years of experience in her chosen field, an exemplary work history and students who return year......

  • 02 Aug Rebecka Hendricks, Emily Griffith High School

    Above: Emily Griffith High School teacher Rebecka Hendricks   ?If the agreement is no good, next year may be my last year.?   Teachers shouldn?t have to live on the edge. But that?s just where Rebecka Hendricks resides. Financially, she?s stuck between loving her life?s......

  • 13 Jun Kevlyn Walsh, East High School

    Above: Kevlyn Walsh in her classroom at East High School   I don’t think DPS is concerned with being competitive.   If you happen to catch East High School teacher Kevlyn Walsh on her way out the door on a typical school morning, you’d notice......

  • 22 Feb Jessica Donovan-Massey, East High School

    ?My joy is working with young people.? Jessica Donovan-Massey, East High School   If you can?t get excited about learning in Jessica Donovan-Massey?s class, it?s not for her lack of trying. Walking down the hallway toward Donovan-Massey?s East High School classroom, you can feel the......

  • 18 Jan Suzanne Hernandez, Westerly Creek Elementary

    ?I know how important my job is.? Suzanne Hernandez, Westerly Creek Elementary   The best part of being a teacher, according to Westerly Creek Elementary first grade teacher Suzanne Hernandez, is when you know you are making a difference in a student?s life. Unfortunately, the......

  • 31 Oct Transitions: Move to ECE has ?revitalized? career

    Photo above: Stedman Elementary ECE teacher Pablo Benitez   Pablo Benitez, Stedman Elementary   Pablo Benitez was a terrible student. Throughout his middle and high school years, he felt disconnected from his teachers and school. It didn?t seem like his teachers were trying to connect......

  • 15 Sep Valerie Lovato?s Mission To Help Teachers

    Photo above: Valerie Lovato in her Eagleton Elementary classroom   Eagleton Elementary teacher chosen to help inform statewide education policy matters   Valerie Lovato first received the news while she was on vacation. The First Grade teacher at Eagleton Elementary was relaxing and enjoying some......

  • 08 May Mollie McGrath, Bryant Webster

    ?I am passionate about having high expectations for my students.? Mollie McGrath, Bryant Webster   A 4th Grade?ELA-S teacher at Bryant Webster, Mollie McGrath brings an international flair to her teaching perspective. The Wisconsin native spent her teen-age years growing up in Colorado and then......

  • 06 Apr Silvia Curiel-Torres, Peer Observer

    ?We can be proud as educators that we were a positive influence.? Silvia Curiel-Torres, Peer Observer   Silvia Curiel-Torres has been an educator for 39 years ? but she started rehearsing for the role long before she ever started teaching professionally. The childhood neighbors of......

  • 14 Mar Dana Berge, Pascual LeDoux Academy

    ?My students have brought immeasurable joy into my life.? Dana Berge, Pascual LeDoux Academy   As you enter Pascual LeDoux Academy on any given weekday morning, you might hear the familiar sounds of what sounds like morning announcements as little ones scamper down the school?s......

  • 18 Feb William Anderson, Manual High School

    DCTA Member Profile ?Teachers are the driving force of education.? William Anderson, Manual High School   William Anderson is what you might call a ?teacher?s teacher.? Passionate for his profession and determined to make a difference, he happily works tireless hours (well, maybe not always......

  • 25 Jan Michael Diaz-Rivera, Columbine Elementary

    ?If my students aren?t able to focus?then we are all wasting our time.? Michael Diaz-Rivera, Columbine Elementary   A 5th grade ELA teacher at Columbine Elementary, Michael Diaz-Rivera may be a rookie in the profession (he?s been teaching for one year), but he?s already learned......

  • 21 Dec Deb Vigil & Loyeen Vigil-McKenna

    DCTA Member Profile There Were Never Such Devoted Sisters Deb Vigil & Loyeen Vigil-McKenna, Skinner Middle School   Sisters Deb Vigil and Loyeen Vigil-McKenna have shared a lot over the years. With just a few years between them, both have borrowed each other?s clothes from......

  • 22 Nov Kris Bethscheider, West Early College

    ?I realized there are good teachers ? and I wanted to be one.? Kris Bethscheider, West Early College   When Kris Bethscheider was just a wide-eyed 13-year-old student, she used to tell her teacher that she hitchhiked to school. Whether or not that was true,......