The Parents, Family, and Community Night took place Wednesday, May 18, 2022 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. at Ridgemont Elementary School. Topics such as Academic Programs for English Learners, Early Literacy Centers for pre-K and 1st Graders, World Language Program, Course Selection and Graduation Pathways, and Adult English Language and Immigrant Resources
Zayda Rodriguez, Christa McAuliffe Middle School Spanish Teacher, named FBISD Secondary Teacher of the Year
At the Teacher of the Year banquet on April 14, 2022, Zayda Rodriguez was named as the Fort Bend ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year. Ms. Rodriguez was first nominated by her campus, and later named one of the five district finalists. Ms. Rodriguez has been the Spanish teacher at Christa McAuliffe for 5 years. Congratulations Ms. Rodriguez! Thank you for all you do for our students!
Suburban Houston Association for Bilingual Education (SHABE) Teachers of the Year
Fort Bend ISD Multilingual Programs would like to congratulate our Suburban Houston Association for Bilingual Education teachers of the year in the follow categories: Bilingual, Elementary ESL, Secondary ESL, and World Language. We thank these dedicated individuals for their continued service to language learners across Fort Bend ISD.
Bilingual Teacher of the Year: Ms. Miriam Vasquez, 4th Grade Bilingual Program Teacher at Ridgegate Elementary School
Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year: Ms. Cassandra Durst, 1st Grade ESL Teacher at Palmer Elementary School
Secondary ESL Teacher of the Year: Mr. Abdelhafid Maher, ESL Teacher at Lake Olympia Middle School
World Language Teacher of the Year: Ms. María Rincón, Spanish Teacher at Quail Valley Middle School
Mariam Vasquez, FBISD SHABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year
We are very excited to share that Mrs. Miriam Vasquez was selected to represent Fort Bend ISD as the FBISD SHABE Bilingual Teacher of the Year.
“Mrs. Vasquez is an educator at heart, her students enjoy coming to school on a daily basis because they know she will be present and that she cares for them” shared her principal Dr. Marta Rivas.
Congratulations Mrs. Vasquez! Thank you for all you do for our bilingual students every day.
Cassandra Durst, FBISD SHABE Elementary ESL Teacher of the Year
***Info about Cassandra Durst
Mr. Abdelhafid Maher, FBISD SHABE Secondary Teacher of the Year
Mr. Abdelhafid Maher was surprised at his campus on Thursday, February 3rd as the FBISD 2021-22 Secondary ESL Teacher of the Year.
Mr. Maher, who learned English as a second language himself, says of his students, “Just like me, they may come from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, but they all deserve my unwavering commitment to welcome them, teach them, inspire them, and support their social and emotional journey so that they, too, can progress in their language acquisition and in their lives. It is this mission as an educator that gives meaning to my life as person.” We are so lucky to have him in our Multilingual family and so proud of his accomplishments!
Pictured from the left are Joël Johnson, Secondary ESL Coordinator; Lake Olympia MS Principal Courtney Clark; Mr. Maher; Cesar Moreira, Baines MS EL Specialist; and LOMS Assistant Principal Lita Skinner.
Quail Valley Middle School Spanish Teacher Wins Award with SHABE
María Rincón, a Spanish teacher at Quail Valley MS, was chosen as the FBISD World Language Teacher of the Year. Ms. Rincón went on to represent FBISD at the Suburban Houstan Area Bilingual Educators (SHABE) Teacher of the Year Competition. Ms. Rincón earned second place in the areawide competition.
Pictured (L to R): Maria Rincon- QVMS Spanish teacher, Melissa Vargas- FBISD World Language Coordinator
Our Bilingual Specialists in Action
Bilingual specialists have been supporting our Bilingual teachers by engaging in coaching cycles. They have been modeling, co-teaching, setting goals with teachers and providing feedback. We have the best specialists!
Dulles High School Student Winner of SHABE Scholarship for Graduating Seniors
TahosinTanisha has been named the winner of a $500 scholarship from the Suburban Association for Bilingual Education. She is a Dulles High School senior and participated in ESOL classes as a sophomore. Tanisha, who moved to the US from Bangladesh a few years ago,continues to use both her home language of Bangla and English. She says,“Having a bilingual approach to my education has improved my cognitive skills, the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures, understanding them better. It has increased my ability to empathize with others and is promoting my emotional intelligence. My bilingual experience is helping me to better process information, leading to a clearer signal for learning.”
Ms. Sylvester says, “What I remember best about having Tahosin in my ESOL 2 class was her friendly personality and how self-motivated and hard-working she was. She was always helping others grow along with her. It’s awesome to see how well she’s doing now! Tanisha remembers Ms. Sylvester as “always being so supportive and kind to me, even now when I’m not longer her student. Whenever I need help with something, she has always been there for me.” Both ladies make our FBISD Multilingual Department tremendously proud!
