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Erica De Hoyos wins EXCEL Award for Southside ISD

This week's EXCEL Award goes to Erica De Hoyos, a teacher who is helping children reach their full potential when it comes to reading.

Erica De Hoyos is a reading specialist instructor at Heritage Elementary in Southside ISD. She says that her love of reading began at a very young age.

“I would always see my mom reading and I would want to real also, yeah,” she said.

When KENS 5 visited her class, she was sharing her love of reading with her students at Heritage Elementary, and said that one-on-one time with each child is a big priority for her.

“It’s good because I’m able to cater to their individual needs because they’re such a small group,” De Hoyos said.

And her dedication doesn’t go unnoticed. When Southside ISD presented her the KENS 5 and Credit Human EXCEL Award, her students couldn’t wait to share their thoughts.

“I’m happy for her,” third-grader Monica Gomez said.

“I think it’s cool,” third-grader Khaled added.

“I was excited for her and I’m happy for her,” third-grader Diana Sandoval said.

“I’m glad that she got teacher of the year,” third-grader Ashley Gomez said.

“I was happy for her,” third-grader Matthew Fernandez said.

The Heritage Elementary teacher’s classroom isn’t your traditional setting as she works with children of all ages from pre-k to the fourth grade.

“I probably know every student’s name in the school,” said De Hoyos as she was laughing. “These kids are awesome. They set goals for themselves and they exceed them, and I see them love to read now.”

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