March’s (yeah we know we’re a couple days early) Featured Teacher, Ms. April Ortiz, comes from our location on Galleria Fair.
When Monika Wooldridge, the Director at the Galleria Fair location, was asked to select a teacher, she had a difficult time selecting a candidate because of the efforts that all of her teachers make every day. She ultimately selected a teacher who has gone above and beyond what Monika ever believed possible.
After spending five years teaching in an infant room, last year Ms. April was asked if she would like to try her hand with the lovely, but rambunctious two-year-olds. April was excited to take on the challenge. She has successfully applied the determination and bright ideas for which she has come to be known within Country Home. We want everyone else to know just how great she is and that is the reason she is this month’s Featured Teacher.
Since Ms. April began working in the two-year-old room, she has spent every day discovering new and inventive ways to teach her children. She explains that her “work life has carried into my personal life,” and jokes that working at Country Home has really “enhanced my resume!” When April isn’t in the classroom, she is helping in the Country Home kitchen, cleaning, cooking, and distributing food. The long list of ways she assists her children and her co-workers exhibits her commitment to making her school a better place.
Ms. April originally worked as a manager in the retail industry where she shined in customer service. When the time came for her to move on, she took a chance and submitted her application at Country Home Learning Center. Being the aunt of 15 nieces and nephews, and a mother of one, she felt right at home in the infant room. During the five years she spent in this room, she gave the infants all the love and nurturing care they could handle!
Ms. April has been part of our San Antonio childcare team for six years now. She says it’s been wonderful to watch the children grow from infants. This year, she watched her original class enter elementary school. Watching the children grow, as well as “getting hugs from past students and parents,” is what makes her job so very special.
When asked why she continues to stay at Country Home after six years, it goes beyond her attachment to her students and their parents. Country Home has become a home away from home. Ms. April has developed relationships with office personnel and other teachers. Just last September, she and other teachers were bridesmaids at a co-teacher’s wedding. She explains how she loves and trusts her co-workers. Everyone at the school motivates her to wake up and come to work every day. She says, “the way everyone is [at Country Home], it makes the day go by faster because we all love being here.”
Monika is so grateful for her entire staff and their unique bond. Ms. April is one amazing employee that Monika refers to as her “diamond in the rough” who showed potential from day one and has since “been transformed into an amazing teacher.” April is currently working toward her CDA, and like the team player she is she shares all her new knowledge with everyone at her school. We look forward to celebrating when she officially becomes a Child Development Associate, and we are so proud to have Ms. April as part of the Country Home family.
