ESL Teacher Named GCS Employee of the Month

Vanessa Esquivel is also Teacher of the Year

at Oak View Elementary

"As an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher at Oak View Elementary, Vanessa Esquivel has to keep up with curriculum for six grade levels and more than 40 students throughout the day who are not native English speakers. Her students have shown such remarkable progress that Esquivel was called on to share her strategies with the entire school staff to help them repeat that success in their classrooms.

Yesterday, Esquivel was named the Guilford County Schools May 2014 Employee of the Month, sponsored by Sam’s Club. She’ll add that honor to one she earned earlier in the year – Teacher of the Year at Oak View, where she has been teaching for 13 years.

Esquivel wins praise from her principal, Heather Bare, for her ability to build relationships with parents and students. A recent multicultural night she coordinated brought in more than 500 attendees, remarkable for a school with just slightly more than 500 students. She’s also a model teacher for other ESL teachers, who come from across the district to observe her classroom.

As Employee of the Month, Esquivel received a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has given more than $5,000 to outstanding GCS employees since 2005. During the month of May, her photo will hang at the district’s central offices, at Oak View Elementary and at the Sam’s Club on Wendover Avenue. She will be recognized at the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, May 13."

A Press Release