Cultural Educator of the Year
Gicela Mondragon - S.C. Outstanding Cultural Educator
“Every country in the world has an intense need for good citizens. Education and cultural understanding are the primary qualities necessary to achieve such a goal.”

Gicela Mondragon Vargas • Colombia Gicela is from Colombia.
South Carolina Outstanding Cultural Educator

Spanish teacher
Fork Shoals and Chandler Creek elementary schools ▪ Greenville County Schools, South Carolina

A traveling teacher in the Spanish Primary Years Program at two elementary schools, Gicela Mondragon finds creative ways to fuel her students’ desire for learning about the world beyond their community. During class time, she weaves in authentic materials from her native Colombia, as well as presentations, video and audio about Hispanic culture.

Outside of class time, the second-term VIF teacher leads a Cultural Club at Fork Shoals and a Spanish Club at Chandler Creek. Through the Cultural Club, she organized the school’s first Colombian Night, including traditional and modern Colombian dances performed by the teacher and her husband, as well as student performances of a salsa and a traditional Colombian San Juanero. She has arranged a pen-pal exchange with a colleague at her old school in Colombia, giving American and Columbian students a chance to learn about each others’ lives while improving their foreign language skills.

Because she moves between schools, Mondragon uses her office door to “converse” with her students. Students can ask her questions by posting them on her door with a sticky note, and during Spanish class, a “postman” delivers the responses to each student.

Principal Christopher Ross, Fork Shoals Elementary:

“Gicela Mondragon has gone above and beyond what is expected of her. She has come in with her background knowledge of the Spanish language and Colombian culture to enrich our program. The students respond to her teaching and the staff and community has benefited greatly from her knowledge and background.”