And the Winners are...
¡Aqui! Milwaukee’s 2008 Educators of the Year
Maria Espinosa, Carmen Follmer, Vanessa Perez, Raul Terriquez
These are the people who are on the front lines of the battle to educate a new generation of workers and professionals. They were nominated by readers and selected by a panel of three judges - Ricardo Pimentel, opinion page editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Yvonne Brodsky, executive director for Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee; and Wally Rendón, education and outreach representative for Educators Credit Union.
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Raul Terriquez was hired by Gateway Technical College after 25 years with the Milwaukee Police Department. He's now Gateway's department chair for the criminal justice program, and is helping transition the program to a full police academy. Zina Haywood, executive vice president of Gateway, calls Terriquez "an example of professional integrity."
Job opportunities: Everyone in the U.S. should be afforded the opportunity to become successful. In my field, it's a very good time for people either of color or minority Hispanics to join a police department because right now there's a demand for police officers to reflect their community.
A chance to succeed: I found that a lot of people that end up in the criminal justice system -- on the bad side of it -- don't have the education level. They may not have the family upbringing, the values. And I've always felt sorry for them, because maybe they didn't have the opportunity.
The arts: I know growing up, playing the guitar is probably what kept me out of prison. I think the arts are so important with culture, and just discipline. And you can use it to your own advantage to handle stress. So I think cutting the arts is a big mistake.
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Carmen Follmer is the first middle-school guidance counselor at La Causa Charter School. Her duties include helping students transition to high school, holding group counseling sessions, and running the school's career fair. Jody Felski, communications manager for La Causa, says: "Connecting with the students is Ms. Follmer's number one priority. And she sets the bar in what a true educator is really all about: making a difference."
Why school matters: Education is everything. It makes or breaks what kind of life you lead and your day-to-day choices. It helps determine how successful you are and how you contribute to society.
Undocumented students: One of the biggest challenges that I face in my work with eighth grade students is knowing that some won't get past high school because of their lack of documentation. I feel a huge pressure to find them the best possible high school because that could be the end for them: 12th grade. It's really sad.
Family connections: One of the differences between the Hispanic community and my experiences in education with non-Hispanics is the feelings of family and closeness among the student and families. We have graduates from last year who comes back to La Causa any chance they get. That says a lot. I see graduates come back for our Tamalada event in September and at the holiday choir concert. That closeness, that connection, is definitely something for the Hispanic community to be proud of.
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 Sometimes, it's the newest educators who exude that passion and drive that help students the most. Vanessa Perez is a GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) advisor based at Pulaski High and Lincoln Center for the Arts. "Seeing someone who's only 24 and making as much headway as Vanessa does is inspirational and motivating," says Alysha Witwicki, a school tutor. Opportunity: I relate to a lot of the students, I was an MPS student, I grew up in the south side, and I tell them education is the key to getting out of their current situation, to have better experiences. And a lot of students do hold on to that.
Expecting more: In other households, if you don't go to college you're a failure. For me, just graduating from high school was a huge accomplishment. For many Latinos, college isn't an expectation. It's a wonderful thing if you graduate from high school and you're not pregnant by the age of 16. Parental involvement is most key. Neither of my parents graduated from college, but they told me that I could. But it also starts from teachers. I see that many of them don't motivate students, they're tired and don't have the passion that they should. And then there are resources. A lot of students don't have computers, and now a lot of the work required at schools requires that you work on a computer. *******
 El Centro de Salud Coordinator Sam Bastian says Maria Espinosa, parent coordinator for Vieau School and director of the community learning center, "sees potential in the least of children, and often it is the toughest kids to love that are her 'special ones." Espinosa has helped build one of the highest parent involvement rates in the school district and has taken special interest in educating the adult community.
Multi-generational effort: A lot of our parents come in and say that they couldn't help their kindergartners with homework because they don't know how to read or write themselves. So at Vieau School we have a program called "El Portal," in partnership with the Mexican government, and we try to teach those families in their own language. We also offer English classes and adult computer classes (which are always full). It's a pleasure to see that when opportunities are presented, people take advantage of them. We even have a student who is 84 years old and he's coming for math, ESL and computer classes. The impact that this has in the community is incredible. Because when you are an educated parent or grandparent, you're able to assist the young people.
Funding challenges: We're facing shrinking resources. Out of eight after-school sites that submitted proposals to stay open for the next four years, only two got approved. When I started with this program, we had $140,000 per year to work with, now it's $100,000. And we can only serve meals for students up to 12 years of age. So if I see a brother and a sister in line for lunch, I have to say "you can eat and you can't because you're 13."
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