TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Inside the Homer Davis Elementary School reading lab, Marycarmen Salazar Rubio helps each student with their reading, word by word. Her path to the classroom started when she became a tutor.
“When I was tutoring with kids, I really liked helping them but I only had them for a handful of minutes," she said.
So she applied for a support staff role in the Flowing Wells Unified School District and became a part of the reading lab at Homer Davis.
“I was like the next step for me is to get into a classroom and have the whole school day,” she said.
Three years later, she applied and was accepted to the district's apprenticeship program.
It's a program in partnership with United Way and the University of Phoenix that helps district employees become teachers.
In two and a half years she'll be in her very own classroom at FWUSD.
“It really is an impactful program because I don’t think that I would have been able to go to college on my own,” she said. “They’re paying for schooling for us and giving us a stipend while keeping our jobs.”
She works with a mentor each week.
“I get to interact with students and immediately apply what I learn on Fridays with Danielle," she said.
Her mentor, Danielle Van Derlaske, has worked at Homer Davis for the last 20 years.
“I think it’s so important for us to find the teachers that want to be in the classroom and understand what it takes to be a teacher,” Van Derlaske said. “Over the years, it’s been hard to fill teacher positions because the demands of the jobs have changed a lot.”
It's a position that Salazar Rubio said she is ready to fill.
"I know I want to do this and I am aware of the hard work that goes into it, I see it every day," she said.
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Tina Giuliano is a reporter for KGUN 9. She is a native Arizonan and grew up in Scottsdale. Tina is passionate about storytelling and is excited to work telling Tucson's stories. Share your story ideas and important issues with Tina by emailing tina.giuliano@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
