View this post on Instagram
Soraya Espinoza-Perez’s experiences as a student inspire her career as an educator. She was driven by a love of learning and exploring new ideas, and hopes to inspire that same passion and curiosity in her students. She wants to promote two-way language immersion to give students the linguistic and cultural appreciation of Spanish that she would have loved to participate in as a youth. Her passion for education and dedication to her students led her to being named the 2025 CUSD Elementary Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Espinoza-Perez is in her 14th year working in CUSD. She started at Marco Forster, piloting the school’s Spanish Immersion Program, before moving to Castille for one year. She moved to San Juan Elementary in 2019 as a fourth and fifth grade Spanish immersion teacher, and now works as the MTSS TOSA (teacher on special assignment) and AVID site coordinator. The move from teacher to TOSA was a little nerve-wracking at first, but brought on new rewards along with the challenges. She is able to work with a larger number of students across all grade levels and collaborate more with teachers. In the end, she is still doing what she loves most- helping students reach their potential.
Mrs. Espinoza-Perez strives to help create a school environment that is welcoming and enriching for all students. Students should feel comfortable and excited to come to school each day, with a variety of opportunities available to them.
“I love being involved in all different aspects of school life at San Juan,” Espinoza-Perez said. “I’ve helped with the school musical and the AVID Student Leaders, who organize our spirit week activities and read the morning announcements.”
She employs specialized training to meet the unique needs of students, tailoring instruction to challenge and inspire. From language immersion to extracurricular activities to MTSS, she is able to adapt her approach to connect with students in all areas.
“My new position is so rewarding because I can work with all kinds of students, from those who may be struggling a little bit to those who want enrichment activities,” Espinoza-Perez said. “I am able to provide support in unique ways that I wasn’t previously as a classroom teacher. It is a great way to help make a difference in all of our students’ lives.”
Her ability to move around classrooms helped set up the surprise visit from District administrators to announce she had won Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Espinoza-Perez was invited to a fourth grade classroom to observe, a common practice, and was surprised when a contingent of people came walking in with balloons and flowers. The Trustees and District administrators there to present the honor were a little surprised as well to find a grey-haired woman with a shawl and glasses. You see, it was San Juan’s 100th day of the school year, and Mrs. Espinoza-Perez was taking part in the tradition of dressing like a 100-year old woman to celebrate.
This achievement means so much to Mrs. Espinoza-Perez, who has dedicated her life to education and learned so much from the relationships she has built along the way.
“Over the years in CUSD, I have had a lot of mentors and great colleagues. Winning this award is really a win for all of them as well, because they helped inspire me to become the teacher that I am today,” Espinoza-Perez said.
