Alumna Awarded Golden Apple
High School Spanish Teacher Feted by HEEF
Alumna Yamila Castro (B.A. Spanish ’98, secondary education teaching credential ’02, M.A. Spanish ’06) has been awarded an Apple of Gold for Excellence in High School Teaching by the Orange County Hispanic Education Endowment Fund (HEEF).
Castro, a Spanish teacher at Western High School is lauded for going “far beyond her teaching assignment to support Latino youth.”
Caption: Yamila Castro, a Cal State Fullerton alumna, is being honored with an Apple of Gold for Excellence in High School Teaching. Photo courtesy of HEEF
She is a trainer who provides teachers with various teaching strategies. She oversees the development of a standards-based curriculum for Spanish and French, and is responsible for the development of common assessments that parallel English-language state exams and comply with foreign language standards. In addition, Castro analyzes district test results and revises and edits assessments to help students meet course and state requirements.
Castro accepts her award Oct. 20 at HEEF’s 18th annual awards celebration in Anaheim. The event is a fundraiser for the organization, which has provided more than 1,500 scholarships totaling more than $1.6 million.
The Anaheim resident credits Cal State Fullerton for preparing her for success in her classroom.
“My experience at Cal State Fullerton was phenomenal,” Castro said, adding that among her favorite professors were Reyes Fidalgo, Sandra Perez-Linggi and Pilar Valero Costa.
“I was a working mom, going to school at night and the Spanish and credential programs were rigorous and demanding; they totally prepared me for teaching,” Castro said.
The 35-year-old mother of four children — ages 10, 9, 6 and 7 months — said she considers all her students as her own children.
“I believe every child deserves the same opportunity to learn and achieve,” she said. “As a Spanish for heritage speakers teacher, I want my students to broaden their horizons, study hard and break through the barriers and stereotypes that still exist, and prove to themselves and the world that they too can succeed.”
Oct. 20, 2011
