According to Mimi Munoz, science teacher at Seguin Elementary School, STEM education is important but learning to be kind should be first in any classroom environment.

From honorable mention to finalist! Fifth grade science teacher, Leticia Sifuentes, says she is thrilled to be one of six nominees for alliantgroup’s 2022 SPARK Award. Although this is her first year teaching at Bonner Elementary School, Sifuentes is a veteran of the classroom with 24 years of experience. She credits her own fifth grade teacher for inspiring her to become one.

From foster care to the classroom, 5th grade science teacher Ruth Giles says her childhood shaped her into the teacher she is today. She tells us she relates more easily to her students at Cornelius Elementary School because of the challenges she faced but also the support she got along the way.

O’Neal teaches children in kindergarten to fifth grade at Mark Twain Elementary school. She tells us she loves teaching STEM to her students because they can see how it applies to the other subjects they are also learning in school.

From Corporate America to the classroom—Lynell Dillard spent three years as an accountant before realizing teaching was her passion. While still working as an accountant, she taught a weekly finance class where her students became her inspiration to pursue a full-time career in the classroom.

From part-time teaching to finance, Melanie Jenkins had many professional experiences prior to becoming a full-time ESL teacher. Jenkins has been a fifth grade ESL teacher at Katherine Smith Elementary School for three years but tells us she first got started in substitute teaching.