In the News: Two APU Alumni Making a Difference in the Education Field

An article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently announced that 16 K–12 educators were named the 2010–11 Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year, the state’s largest honors competition. Among the winners were Azusa Pacific University alumni Kimberley Opel of the Azusa Unified School District and Beverly Gonzalez of the Baldwin Park Unified School District.

Beverly Gonzalez, who has been an educator for 18 years, currently teaches fourth grade at Santa Fe Elementary School in Baldwin Park. She says her classroom is like a sports arena. Students are spotlighted with music and lighting when they do well. They also get high fives, take a photo with a jersey, and get to shoot hoops when they get good scores on their tests. “The kids love it. If I have fun, then they're having fun. And if they're having fun, they're coming to school willing and ready to learn,” the Baldwin Park Unified teacher said.

Kimberly Opel, a seventh-grade teacher at Foothill Middle School in Azusa, said that at age 4, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. Even her pre-school teacher said, “Kim’s going to be a teacher.” Opel, who teaches language arts at Foothill, emphasized the importance of bringing the community together to make a difference in children’s lives. “The more people get involved in their local schools, the better we are going to be in growing the youth and the community of tomorrow,” said Opel.