PASCO, Wash.- Lizhandy Cortes is a special education teacher at Ellen Ochoa Middle School. She was awarded November’s Classroom Makeover from WaFd Bank.
Mrs. Cortes is a first-year teacher teaching sixth, seventh and eighth graders in both Spanish and English. “I also have four students who are newcomer students so they are learning how to speak English,” said Cortes.
Mrs. Cortes started at Stevens Middle School working as a registration clerk for three years before graduating in January.
“It’s a lot of learning still and thankfully my kids give me grace,” said Mrs. Cortes. “I have a student who is very great with Spanish and sometimes he knows words that I don’t, so I also learn from them.”
Mrs. Cortes’ parents grew up in Jalisco Mexico. While she was born and raised in the states, at one point she only knew Spanish.
“Going into school I knew it was hard for me,” said Cortes. She said she wants to create a safe space in her classroom by, “teaching students in a language that they also know and that they feel comfortable using.”
Mrs. Cortes said when she decided to go into teaching, she always knew she wanted to be in East Pasco. “We have more students who know Spanish and need bilingual teachers,” said Cortes.
Cortes said she plans to use the award to buy bag holders, eraser toppers and bilingual books for different grade levels.
WaFd Bank believes in keeping our community strong through supporting students and teachers. Each month, WaFd and NonStop Local will choose a teacher from nominations by the community and present a check to their classroom. You can nominate a deserving teacher here.
