Tobe Turpen Elementary first-grade teacher uses skills from her previous career to help students succeed
Each month, Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe recognizes one local teacher within the Gallup area for his or her determination to help students go above and beyond. Prospective teachers are nominated by students who feel they deserve to be recognized. This month, Michelle Viloria of Tobe Turpen Elementary school is the recipient of the Teacher of the Month award.
This is Viloria’s fifth year teaching first grade. Before teaching, she worked as a software developer in Las Vegas, Nev. However, she’d always loved working with children. Her career as a software developer had been successful, but Viloria decided it wasn’t what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She enjoyed teaching a form of martial arts called Tai Chi, so when she considered what career to transition into, she chose education.
“I love children, and I would like to be a positive role model,” Viloria told the Sun. “I thought that the best way [to be a role model] was to be a teacher.”
She didn’t find any local programs that would allow her to transition to teaching, so she began looking at programs in other states. This led her to Gallup and her new career as a first-grade teacher.
“She’s a dedicated teacher,” Tobe Turpen Elementary principal Noel Thomas said. “I’m happy to have her as a staff member at Turpen.”
Because of Viloria’s background, math is one of her favorite subjects to teach. She also excels at teaching her students how to use technology, such as downloading homework assignments and uploading the completed assignments back to her.
“Her kids are always performing really great in math,” Thomas said. “She brings a lot of technology into her instruction.
“It’s great, because no matter what, technology is going to continue to be in our lives,” he continued. “She’s preparing her students for the future.”
As she’s grown in her teaching career, Viloria has come to love teaching other subjects, such as reading, just as much or even more than math. She believes her analytical approach helps her break subjects apart and communicate them to her students effectively.
When transitioning to her teaching career, one of the biggest adjustments was learning classroom management, as working with a group of young children all day is very different from working with adults. Thomas believes Viloria has done a great job learning how to keep her students engaged and productive throughout the day.
“Michelle has a very calm, patient side,” Thomas said. “She works at the pace of a first-grade student mind.
“She is able to just keep them moving, and they’re learning the whole time,” he pointed out. “It seems like there’s a lot going on, but every activity is meaningful.
“The kids are able to stay engaged because it’s not boring.”
Viloria takes advantage of all the professional development opportunities offered to continue to grow in her career. While she enjoys many aspects of the job, ultimately the fulfillment she’s found after transitioning from software development to education, comes from the students she gets to shape and mold.
“My students are very eager to learn. That’s pretty much the pinnacle of education, and I want to empower them to learn,” Viloria said.
