Whether teaching English to mainstream students, in the magnet programs focused on careers in education and the performing arts, or English as a Second Language, Mary Melendez empowers her students at Socorro High School in El Paso to succeed. Ms. Melendez's students have updated Shakespeare's language for performances of Romeo and Juliet, produced cookbooks and explored Chicano Literature. Her ESL students are held to high expectations and follow a project-based curriculum that helps motivate and prepare them for university. Ms. Melendez works closely with the school's Ninth Grade Initiative by developing study guides, tutoring, and providing counseling and parenting advice. One of the developers of the district's standards-aligned curriculum guides, she also trains colleagues and new teachers to implement sound instructional strategies.
1986 University of Texas - El Paso, B.S.
