TIA Newsletter

One of our seven pending TIA designees, Ms. Margarita Esquivel, hails from Zacatecas, Mexico and came to the USA when she was 11 years old. She has been with Cityscape Schools since 2015, working first as a TA, then an IA, and after completing her bachelor’s degree and passing her required state certification exams, has been teaching for Buckner Prep for the past three years. She has been teaching Pre-kindergarten classes for the past two years. Since last school year (2021-2022) was the first year of TIA eligibility for Cityscape Pre-kindergarten teachers, Ms. Esquivel did not realize that the district had made application to include PreK in our TIA plan and was very surprised to hear of her pending designation status.

When asked about her high marks on the T-TESS and the CIRCLE assessment (student growth), she responded “respect for profession.” She added, “I accept responsibility for my job without expecting anything in return, except for student growth!”   

When asked what advice she would give to a beginning teacher, she replied, “Take care of yourself: mentally, physically, and emotionally. You must serve as an example to your students, so they always see you at your best. Your priority is not only your students, but also yourself.”

When asked to share what she admires about Ms. Esquivel, her principal, Ms. Clarencia Wade, stated, “she is an advocate for her students. She has a strong sense of knowing how to assist her students at the level of their needs. She LOVES teaching and working with those younger students.”

When asked for a final word on teaching, she replied, “I never expect a reward for what I do. My values are to work hard and give my all for my students. If you do good things for others, then good will come back to you!”