Guadalupe Perez Named Elementary Teacher of the Year

Guadalupe Perez Named Elementary Teacher of the Year
Posted on 05/27/2022
Elementary Teacher of the Year Ms. Guadalupe Perez

Guadalupe Perez, A.V. Cato Elementary third grade bilingual math teacher, has been named Castleberry ISD's Elementary Teacher of the Year. Perez is one of three elementary campus teachers who were awarded Teacher of the Year at the campus level.  As the Castleberry ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year, Perez will advance to the regional level where one elementary teacher from all the school districts in Region XI has an opportunity to be named Region XI Teacher of the Year.

Perez, a proud first generation Mexican American, was raised in the North Side of Fort Worth and is now the mother of two boys. From a young age, her parents instilled in her the importance of a good education and hard work. A graduate of Texas Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Education and Spanish, she began teaching at A.V. Cato eight years ago.

Perez believes in the importance of building relationships with students and parents in order to achieve the best results possible. This includes occasionally putting content and learning on hold to build a student’s self-esteem, talking with them, getting to know their likes, dislikes, and much more. “I learn the most from those students that are the hardest to connect with,” she says. She reflects that many students who walk through her door who have a reputation for being “difficult” often become the students she misses the most. “I choose to find solutions together with my students because I need them to know I hear them, respect them, and [understand] what they have to say is important,” she says.

Perez has found that her students truly try their best and succeed because they know they are loved and that she believes in them. “Happy students who…feel that their teacher genuinely likes…them and believes in them want to feel that you are proud of them, so they try harder.” She continues to find new ways to build bonds with all students through research, books, articles, memes, and even Tik Toks.