Congratulations to Lucia Martin Garcia, the 2018-19 Teacher of the Year at Heritage Elementary!
Congratulations to Lucia Martin Garcia, Heritage Elementary’s Teacher of the Year! Martin is a third-grade teacher who has been at Heritage for four years and teaches all subjects - math, science, and Language Arts. However, there’s something unique about Martin’s teaching: As part of Heritage’s Dual Language Immersion program, she teaches all of her subjects in Spanish!
Before coming to Heritage Elementary, Martin taught for five years in Spain. She is grateful for the opportunity to teach her culture and language through the Utah Common Core. “DLI is an amazing program,” said Martin. “The students are able to learn to enjoy differences from other cultures. It brings communities together.”
Martin’s classroom is full of life. Her walls are decorated from floor to ceiling and her energetic students can be found chatting amongst themselves in Spanish - which, for most, if not all of them, is their second language. Martin understands that learning another language is hard. She expressed pride in her students for learning to articulate their thoughts in Spanish, and for learning core subjects, such as science and math, in the language.
Heritage principal Lance Robins shared, “Lucia loves being a teacher and it shows in her personality and attitude. She is a wonderful staff member and seeks to build a better future for all.”
Martin’s focus is to help her students become valuable contributors to society. “I decided to be a teacher when I was 18 because I felt the desire to help my society grow,” Martin explained. “I consider education to be a way to help my community understand and defend their rights, to have access to fair jobs, and as a way to achieve growth in all areas.”
Thank you, Ms. Martin, for using your energy, enthusiasm, and kindness to bring awareness of a new culture and language to Heritage Elementary. Cache County School District is lucky to have you be part of our Dual Language Immersion Program!