Some of the best teachers are those who started out doing something else with their lives.
Patricia Chavez she started her professional life as an accountant but eight years ago switched careers. She is now a Bilingual teacher at Sky Harbor Elementary in the .
"I actually used to teach accounting to adults. I started thinking this is what I like best about my job. Why don't I do it on a permanent basis?" Chavez said.
Her students are glad she changed professions.
"She's a great teacher," enthused third grader Javier Lira.
"In the biz world you work for money and that's good. But for me that wasn't enough. When you become a teacher you're not working for money, you're working to make that difference in a child's life." said Chavez.
To help make a difference in lives beyond her classroom, Chavez started the Sky Harbor Cheer Squad to instill pride, discipline, dedication and responsibility.
Sky Harbor Elementary is one of the schools the Southwest Independent School District chose to be a pilot to use ipads in the classroom. Chavez uses the technology to get students excited about learning.
Melanie Gonazlez looks forward to using the ipad everyday to find new words and write. It makes learning fun and her friends and family envious.
"They're kind of jealous because my cousins don't have ipads in their school and they wish they could have ipads in their school," said Gonzalez.
Chavez stresses the importance of children maintaining their native language and culture as they acquire and transition to the English language.
"I think it's so important to maintain our culture. We can't forget about where we come from, that's
very important. I always tell my kiddos, you learn two languages, you keep those two languages. you are worth twice as much.," said Chavez.
This from a teacher who measures her worth in the difference she makes in these children's lives every day.
