Two dozen Tefft Middle School sixth-graders spend the first class of their day with Soledad Martin Navarro, a teacher who not only teaches them Spanish but actually hails from Spain.
“It’s pretty cool. I really like her, and we get to learn about her home country,” student Max Femat of the instructor, who hails from Seville.
Among the things they’ve learned beyond grammar, spelling and the like is that tortilla española is an egg-and-potato omelet served in Spain and one of Martin Navarro’s favorite meals.
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“It’s fun learning about her country and culture,” student Frida Soberanis said.
For example, Soberanis said, did you know that the Spanish word for cool or awesome is guay?
Martin Navarro is one of 29 teachers from Spain working for School District U-46 through the program. Mireya Perez, U-46 director of human resources, said the district has been taking part in VIT for more than 20 years as a way to meet the need for bilingual teachers, particularly those who speak Spanish.
U-46 has also recruited bilingual teachers from Puerto Rico for more than 20 years, with 29 working for the Elgin-based district as well, Perez said.
“As part of these recruitment efforts, we have established partnerships with six universities across Puerto Rico and regularly participate in job fairs throughout the island to attract highly qualified bilingual educators,” she said.
Earlier this year, U-46 officials also attended a recruitment event in New Mexico, where staff connected with more than 70 dual-language teachers from across the nation. While that didn’t lead to any new hires, the hope is such events will increase the chances of attracting bilingual candidates, Perez said.
As for what led Martin Navarro to come to U-46, she said, “I am ambitious and saw this as a tremendous career opportunity, a chance to see the United States and to share my culture with students.”
Martin Navarro has taught in Spain, Belgium and France, she said, and also speaks French. The application process was a long one that took about five months to complete, she said.
According to information from the Illinois State Board of Education, VIT is tied to the U.S. State Department’s BridgeUSA Program, where participants enter the country on a J-1 visa for employment. The exchange visitor program allows them to work in the United States for up to five years.
The state board has been a program sponsor for 27 years, placing teachers at public schools across Illinois in prekindergarten through 12th-grade levels.
Martin Navarro taught for two years at the now-closed Lowrie Elementary School in Elgin. She moved to Tefft in Streamwood this year as part of the district’s transition of sixth-graders from elementary schools to middle schools and, like her students, she’s adjusting to the change, she said.
In addition to Spanish Language Arts, she also teaches social studies and ESL classes at Tefft.
As for living in the Midwest, one of the biggest changes was getting used to the cold winters here compared to those in Seville, Martin Navarro said. She’s also had to get used to driving to drive to most places, rather than being able to walk in her hometown and, of course, there’s the difference in food, she said.
“We tend to eat healthier in Spain, but I do like all the choices I have here. I now like Mexican food a lot,” she said.
Teaching here also means having more evaluations than at her prior schools.
“I didn’t have the principal come to sit in on my classes,” Martin Navarro said of her other teaching experiences.
U-46 has provided a lot of support, and she’s formed a second family here with about 10 other teachers from Spain who also are teaching at U-46 schools. She also enjoys heading into Chicago to visit museums and festivals and she’s become a Chicago Bulls fan, she said.
Martin Navarro also likes that O’Hare International Airport is less than a half-hour away from where she lives, giving her the ability to visit other places in the United States, like Yellowstone National Park, and to return to Spain to visit family.
And while “SpongeBob SquarePants” is an American cartoon, Martin Navarro uses images of him as a fun way to take attendance and judge her students’ moods.
“Some things become universal,” she said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.
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