Cultural Educator of the Year
Gloria Cortes - Calif. Outstanding Cultural Educator
“My students have started to set individual expectations and their own goals in life. Thus, some discovered their desire to be scientists; others have developed a deep interest in the history and traditions of faraway and remote places of the world. Their world had widened, indeed!”

Gloria Cortés Moreno • Chile Gloria is from Chile.
California Outstanding Cultural Educator

Fifth-grade teacher
César Chávez Elementary ▪ Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, California

On Gloria Cortés’s first day as a teacher at César Chávez Elementary School, she told her students, almost all of whom were of Mexican or Mexican-American descent, that her home country is Chile. Her students asked, “How can you live in a chili pepper?” Cortés seized this moment, pointing out her homeland on a world map. To her students’ surprise, the country Chile was shaped like a jalapeno chili. With that introduction, it wasn’t long before Cortés and her students were engaged in lively discussions of her homeland.

Taking advantage of her students’ desires to learn and natural curiosity, Cortés has found ways to integrate “mini cultural lessons” into her classes.

At the school’s annual Cultural Day celebration, Cortes shares her pride in her Chilean homeland with her students, complete with music, art and a multitude of activities. This year, she also presented a “Get to Know Chile” activity for her fellow colleagues at a staff meeting, including a PowerPoint presentation highlighting beautiful sights of her beloved country.

David Derr, fifth-grade teacher, César Chávez Elementary School:

“Gloria Cortés is a truly gifted educator, especially in the area of her cultural contributions to her adoring students, her admiring staff, and the rest of the school in general. Gloria is a spectacular teacher, who with her unending dedication and contagious inspiration, has not only made her students successful, but has made the school a better place for everyone.”