9 Hispanic Alternate Route Teachers Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future

September 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month with the theme “Collective Heritage: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future.” This year serves as a reminder of the cultural traditions that shape Hispanic identity and a call to embrace the creativity, innovation, and promise of future generations.

For more than 50 years, this national observance has recognized not only the independence of several Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile—but also the undeniable influence of Hispanic and Latinx communities across the United States. Hispanic and Latinx influence in art, music, literature, science, politics, and sports has deeply enriched our culture, while also paving the way for powerful new voices to emerge worldwide.

At the heart of these contributions are dedicated educators who embody this year’s theme in their daily work. Hispanic and Latinx teachers, as well as those championing equity and inclusion, inspire the next generation by creating classrooms rooted in belonging, confidence, and cultural pride. Research shows that representation matters—when students see themselves reflected in curriculum and role models, they thrive. Through culturally responsive teaching practices, educators go above and beyond to ensure all students feel valued and empowered to achieve their greatest potential.

Rutgers Alternate Route proudly celebrates nine outstanding teachers making a significant impact in New Jersey school districts. Inspired by their families and personal experiences as students, these educators have discovered creative and effective ways to excel in the classroom. Read to the end to get inspired by their stories!

Ericka Betancourt, Teacher of Mathematics
 

My teaching journey began unexpectedly. After college, I struggled to find a job until a principal approached me to fill a classroom position. I accepted, thinking it would be temporary, but soon discovered a passion for teaching. I quickly realized how much I loved the classroom’s energy, the joy of watching students grasp challenging concepts, and the fulfillment that comes from building relationships with young minds. I’ve never looked back.

I earned my Master's in Mathematics Education, and now I’m nearing the completion of my Ph.D. at Columbia University. Outside the classroom, I’m deeply committed to education advocacy and enjoy integrating my interest in social justice into my teaching. I love leading the math club and attending students’ extracurricular activities, like their games, which allows me to connect with them beyond academics. I believe in showing up for my students not just as their teacher, but as someone who cares about their overall well-being. I make myself available for extra help in the mornings and after school, and my door is always open whenever a student needs to talk.

At the core of my teaching philosophy is the belief that all students, regardless of their background, deserve the opportunity to succeed. My goal is to create a learning environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. By building relationships and making learning both engaging and relevant, I hope to inspire my students to believe in themselves and realize they are capable of more than they ever imagined.

 

Leslie Munoz,  English as a Second Language  
 

From a young age, I developed a deep love of reading and learning. I still remember the teachers who made me feel seen, valued, and challenged—those experiences have shaped the kind of teacher I aspire to be. As a Latina with a background in Criminal Justice, I have studied the impacts of systemic inequality, including the school-to-prison pipeline, and have witnessed how access to education can dramatically change life outcomes. These experiences have instilled in me a strong belief that all children deserve equal opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances.

While my values and sense of purpose as an educator have been shaped by my own schooling and lived experiences, I now aim to deepen my focus on content knowledge and understanding what truly works for my students—academically, socially, and emotionally.

This belief ultimately led me to the field of English as a Second Language (ESL). I view ESL not just as language instruction, but as a space for empowerment. My goal is to build strong, trusting relationships that support my students’ confidence, especially as they navigate the challenges of learning a new language. I strive to create a classroom environment where effort is praised, mistakes are embraced as part of the learning process, and every student—whether fluent or still developing English proficiency—feels capable of success.

At the heart of my teaching is a commitment to equity and student well-being. I show up each day with the mindset that my role is not only to teach content, but to support, advocate for, and believe in my students. I know that when students feel safe and supported, they’re more willing to take risks, make progress, and become lifelong learners.

 

Miguel Reyes, English as a Second Language
 

Reflecting on my life from an early age, I have always had an interest in helping others. My first job ever was a lifeguard for my city’s public pools. This was the first taste of being integrated within my community. Having a parent who has worked in public schools their whole life, I was always surrounded by educators and professionals, and have always had an interest in how I can help people the best way I can. My teachers, along with my interest in helping people, eventually guided me to where I am now as an ESL teacher. Along with this, my undergraduate degree is in sociology, as I saw a means of wanting to help communities and have a bigger outreach when it comes to making a difference. My principles I believe about teaching are that everyone should have an equal opportunity in learning, and how we learn is the journey.

Prior to becoming a teacher, I  worked many different jobs in my life. For starters, I served in the United States Army for eight years. Following that, I sought a job working in school security at an alternative school. Having worked there, I eventually transitioned to a one-on-one aide. After a shift of life events occurred, I left working in schools and sought other jobs, such as an armored truck driver and a telecommunications technician. After those jobs, I came back into the education field and started out as a paraprofessional. Four years of service as a paraprofessional eventually led to becoming an ESL teacher... I am a teacher who can establish rapport with my students by sharing life experiences from when I was their age and how the right people and mentors at the right time helped guide me to where I am today.

 

Sheila Watley Zorilla, English as a Second Language
 

My family had said, “She was born to be a teacher,” and now I can see why. Many pictures of me teaching my toys how to read in our backyard attest to this statement. However, as I grew up, that statement felt far from the truth. I was born into a family of teachers in the Dominican Republic. As a child, I loved teaching my pets and toys whatever I learned in school that day. It felt natural.  

But as I grew older, I began to neglect this part of myself. I wanted to distance myself from teaching. I realized this was because teaching took so much time away from me and my mom, and everything related to school was always a priority at home. I did not want that for myself.  

When I graduated from high school, I applied to the Hispanic Leadership Institute in New York. There, I found myself longing to make a change in my community and the world by starting at the root: education. I was hesitant to acknowledge that I knew the answer, but could not face the fact that I had to return to education. I enrolled in college for a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry in Education, but it wasn’t until I had to knock on doors in poor communities to inform and teach people how to protect themselves from a virus spreading in the DR that I knew it was my calling. They lacked the resources to be informed and make educated choices about their health. It was then that I realized narrowing educational gaps in the Dominican Republic and the world was my purpose.  

After graduating, I moved to the United Kingdom because I won a prestigious scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy. Now, as a teacher, I show up every day wanting to be the leader and changemaker I would have wanted when I was a child, because I know one day, my students in Newark will be that for others.  

Oliver Brantome, Teacher of English
 

I have identified as a writer since middle school. My love for writing and language really showed in high school, where I was able to take Creative Writing as an elective and meet the teachers who would inspire me to teach someday. I struggled to finish high school - for many reasons, including being transgender and having a chronic anxiety disorder - but these teachers helped me find a community at school that made me feel welcome and valued. The lessons I learned through my studies of literature and language in English class broadened my worldview and enriched my life as a whole. The reason I became a teacher was because I wanted to provide all of these things to students who were in the same shoes I once was.

One of the strongest personal beliefs that influences my practice is my belief in social justice and equity. I believe that the classroom should be a place for all students to grow as critical thinkers and as members of a global community. This is evident in my practice through the culturally-relevant and student-centered curriculum I teach. Before all of this, though, I make sure that I first see my students as people, with their own identities, backgrounds, and experiences. I value their voice and present myself as someone who will listen to them and their concerns. This is all part of making my classroom a safe/brave space for all who enter it. These are just some of the ways in which my beliefs influence my practice.

 

Rocio Gomez, Teacher of Spanish

My name is Rocio Gomez, and I am proudly Latina, born in Peru. I studied Law and Political Science at the University of San Martín de Porres, graduating in 2004 with two honorable mentions. In 2005, I attended the Diplomatic Academy of Peru. As a retired diplomat, I traveled the world representing my country in international negotiations and on a wide range of topics related to my diplomatic career. For almost 17 years, I worked at the Peruvian Consulate in Paterson, New Jersey, serving as a diplomatic lawyer.

Between 2014 and 2016, I completed my master’s degree in Administrative Sciences, Diplomacy, and International Relations at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. I discovered my passion for teaching when I was offered an opportunity to teach undergraduate students at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Six years ago, I began teaching at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, and seeing my students grow into professionals on their life’s journeys has been the most rewarding aspect of my teaching career.

Little by little, I realized I wanted to change my career. I knew that diplomacy, though fulfilling, was reaching its natural conclusion, and I wanted to pursue genuine happiness. One day, I shared this with my husband, telling him I wanted to dedicate myself to teaching, because every time I taught a class at the university, I felt compelled to continue. I love to research, read, and explore new subjects, and I believe that as human beings, we never stop learning. My family supported me immediately. I am married to a man from Madrid, and we have two daughters. Balancing motherhood with a diplomatic life was challenging, as frequent travel prevented me from seeing my daughters grow. This made me want to stop being a nomad and have a stable career where I could share my knowledge. That is why I decided to teach Spanish.

My mother tongue is perfect, and I have many experiences to share with my students; I am passionate about teaching them correct pronunciation and verb conjugation. The world of language is fascinating, and it is what I want to dedicate myself to. It took a great effort to reach this point in record time. I am now in the alternate route program, eager to learn and become a better professional every day. One of my biggest inspirations in this career is my mother, who is no longer here. She was a teacher from the time I was born, and I owe the person I am today to her; she taught me that learning never truly ends.

Within my teaching principles, I believe the relationship between teacher and student is fundamental to successful learning. We must earn our students’ trust without crossing boundaries, always remembering that instructors are not friends; respect must always be maintained in all classes.

Justin Roure, Elementary School Teacher in Grades K-6

Teaching was never something I considered as a kid. The last time my family had produced a teacher was my mom's mom, who left that life behind when she immigrated to the United States. Growing up, I was sure I was going to be a paleontologist, then a lawyer, then a medical examiner, then a wildlife biologist. I realized, while these careers all sounded like fun, they did not align with the most basic part of my personality: the need to nurture and care for others. Eventually, that need drove me into education. As a teacher, particularly this year as a special education teacher, I am able to make a living and stay true to the ideals that I was raised on.  

I can't speak of my ideals without speaking about the person who gave them to me. My paternal grandmother, Abuela Carmen, was the model for the values I came to live by. In a way, she modeled for me everything a mentor should be. I never thought about how hard her role was back when I was young, but after being with my students for 4 years now, I can see a piece of how hard her job was. Every day I see my students, I aim to make them feel like she made me feel: loved, accepted, and valued. In my eyes, the content matter will always come second to showing my students what it means to be a good person, and I am not ashamed to admit that. When a child leaves my classroom, I want them to know how to love AND how to solve a quadratic equation. That is my philosophy.

Sebastian Galeano, Elementary School Teacher in Grades K-6

When I first began my adult life, I pursued my passion for playing soccer instead of the traditional route of going to college immediately after high school graduation. I played semi-professionally for a few years while working in construction and various other roles. During this time, I also began coaching youth soccer during the evenings. I found that the time I spent with kids sharing something so organically of interest to me was the best time I spent all week. I began to build my coaching certification and experience to the point where I coached multiple age groups and later earned a coaching position at an elite soccer academy.

While coaching was something I immediately recognized I enjoyed, I also began to recognize I was good at it, which helped give me direction. I enrolled in Ramapo College at the age of 28 and received my B.A. in Philosophy. When I graduated, I knew I wanted to try to launch a different path for my life.

I decided to try working in a school to see if my interests and skills aligned there as much as I thought they might. An opportunity in my hometown of Ridgewood opened up, and I was lucky enough to earn a position as a teaching assistant in an elementary school. Before leaving the school on my first day of work, I decided that I wanted to try to become a teacher.

This summer, three years after starting as a paraprofessional, I obtained my first contract as a fourth-grade teacher. Each step had its own challenges, but I enjoyed every day that I worked toward my goal of becoming a teacher. I am now in a position to give back to the community I am from and guide young humans as they navigate the changes the world is facing at an immense rate. I strive to make my classroom a place for kids to enjoy being in school. I employ a philosophy that relies on cultivating a genuine connection with my students—one where they look forward to coming to school and enjoy learning.

I have landed in a profession I am proud to be in and enjoy. I consider myself immeasurably lucky, and I am here because I followed what brought me joy. I didn’t take the same path as many of my peers, but because of my self-expression, my life has unfolded beautifully. Among the many goals I have for my students, helping them develop their highest level of self-expression is the most paramount. This, in my opinion, is one of the most important tasks of being a good teacher.

Pedro Burbano, Teacher of Spanish

I was born in Ecuador, and I came to the United States when I was fifteen years old. After graduating from High School, I went to Pierce College in California, and I started to take ESL classes at that school, where I had good memories with my teachers and family. I then graduated from Kean University in 2016 with a degree in Spanish, and both personal and professional experiences have shaped my journey in education. One of my greatest inspirations is my children, whose dedication and success in school continually motivate me. I was also deeply influenced by my English teacher, who recognized and supported me through academic challenges.  

As a teacher, I like to incorporate different strategies by asking students what they prefer to do or how they learn better. I need to see students' needs and put myself in their shoes. This strategy guides me in my teaching approach and helps me to use resources that become highly effective.  

I believe that every student learns in their unique way and that education should be both engaging and relevant. Outside the classroom, I enjoy reading poetry and staying active through sports, passions that often bring fresh energy and creativity to my teaching approach. The principles that I use in my classroom and the school are curriculum, assessments, and classroom management, which are the most relevant in my teaching experience because without this fundamental knowledge, I can’t grow with my expectations. Teaching is a challenging career that requires passion, patience, and love to do things for students who will compensate you with a smile and gratitude.  

If you’re considering following your dream of teaching, Rutgers Alternate Route can offer you the support and training you need to succeed. Be sure to follow Rutgers Alternate Route on Twitter and sign up for Alternate Route’s monthly newsletter for more information and stories from the field of education.