BY MIKE FUHRMAN

The day in Aracelis Perez’s classroom at South Elementary School begins with plenty of smiles and a few hugs. As the students put their backpacks away and begin scouring a word search for their names, the second-grade teacher checks on their progress, offering a few quick “peeks” at the answers for those who need a little help.

The new year has just started, and the students are still adjusting to their teacher’s expectations and the routines of the school day. The classroom is warm and welcoming, and the students are quickly learning there is a time and space for everything. There’s room on the back wall to display students’ outstanding work. On another wall, there are assurances that “it’s okay” to feel sad, think differently, make a mistake, take a timeout, and ask for help. 

Perez, who has been teaching for 18 years and was recently named the Mooresville Graded School District’s Teacher of the Year, is still getting to know her new students. She connects with one of them over the Pokemon characters on the child’s shirt, encourages another in his native Spanish, and takes a few seconds to tie a loose lace on another student’s shoe.

As formal instruction begins, Snoop Dogg is among the cast of characters who provides a daily affirmation on the digital whiteboard, encouraging the students to believe in themselves and control their own happiness.

In between lessons, there’s time for stretching, a hydration break and even a little dancing. The students join in as their teacher shows them that she can Floss, Mop, and Dab with the best of them. She’s not bad at the Harlem Shake or Running Man either.

The students move easily between their desks and the colorful mat in the front of the room, picking up and putting away materials as instructed. They listen intently to their teacher, with about the amount of squirming you would expect from second-graders. A few minutes later, they are learning about narratives and working their way through “Chester’s Way.” They read confidently and in unison from the text on the whiteboard when she asks them to do so.

“Pat yourself on the back and say good job,” Perez tells the students after they finish a reading lesson on their dry erase boards. “And tell your neighbor, ‘Good effort.’ “

‘It felt like home’

Perez’s journey to MGSD began with an invitation from a friend to visit Mooresville in 2019. Perez was born in New York and raised in the Dominican Republic, where her parents are from. She was teaching in Louisiana when a long-time friend who was working for MGSD invited her to visit for a Dominican Day Celebration. She toured South Elementary School and fell in love. “As soon as I stepped in, it felt like home,” she said.

After she met with then-Principal Mark Cottone, he offered her a teaching position.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Perez and her husband Jose and their boys, Jonathan and Josue, relocated to the area for the 2020-2021 school year. (Many of her family members, including her parents, have since moved to the region.) Last spring she was recognized by her colleagues as South Elementary’s Teacher of Year, which put her in the running for the MGSD Teacher of the Year Award.

Among Perez’s many strengths, South Elementary Principal Cheryl Dortch said, is her “student-centered approach” to teaching. By focusing on the needs, interests, and abilities of her students, Perez teaches them to be active participants in their own learning journey, the principal said.

Dortch also praised Perez for providing lessons in a manner that meet diverse learning styles, and her assessments are designed to provide ongoing feedback so students can reflect on their progress and set personal goals. 

“By prioritizing the student’s voice and choice, her approach fosters a deeper engagement with the material, cultivates a love for learning, and prepares students to be independent, lifelong learners,” the principal explained.

As you watch Perez in action, her genuine love and concern for her students is evident. She is also actively engaged with her co-workers, Dortch said, and is eager to provide support that is both empathetic and focused on finding solutions.

“She anticipates potential obstacles, shares knowledge generously, and collaborates with a focus on collective goals. She is the biggest advocate for her students and her colleagues!” Dortch added. “She fosters a positive and respectful working environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to do their best.”

‘I really wanted to be a positive influence’

A first-generation college student, Perez said her journey to becoming an educator began when she was 11 years old and helping out at a Bible School in the Dominican Republic. On the third day, she noticed that several of the younger students were watching her. That moment inspired her and continues to inspire her.

“I really wanted to be a positive influence for others,” she said.

During the MGSD Convocation when she was named Teacher of the Year, Perez stressed the important role her parents have played and continue to play in her life.

“They wanted me to choose any profession or career I wished. I remember them giving me an example. They told me that if I wanted to be a ‘limpiabotas’ I could be a shoe shiner. Their request was for me to focus on being the best ‘limpiabotas’ I could be. Not comparing myself to others, but the best that I could be.”

In an interview, she said her faith and religious beliefs have also shaped her career. Inspired by a passage in the Book of Colossians, she tries “to do everything” with her heart.

“Every child and family I come in contact with there’s a reason,” she said.

Part of that reason is inspiring her students to become the best version of themselves that they can – just as her parents inspired her.  During a recent trip to the Dominican Republic, she ran into a student she taught many years ago. Today, that student is in medical school.

Describing her students as “the heart and soul of why” she teaches, Perez told her colleagues that every student she encounters has left a permanent mark on her life and she is “endlessly grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow alongside them.”

Many other MGSD teachers are worthy of the award, she said, and she is proud to represent them during the coming year.

“I am not the most expert and I don’t know it all,” she said. “I’m not perfect, I make mistakes … Just like many of you I am in my classroom, sometimes feeling proud of the process and outcome, and other times just managing to get by and giving myself some grace. Just like you, I keep trying my best, one day at a time, for every child every day.”