Alamo Heights Junior School teacher Mrs. Maldonado loves teaching, whether she teaches at school or teaches her kids at home. She wanted to become a teacher because of the social interactions with the students.

Since this is Mrs. Maldonado’s first year teaching at Alamo Heights Junior School, “she doesn’t know how long they have been working on the STEM project,” she said.

“I do not give my kids a lot of homework. The only homework I will give my students is homework if they don’t finish classwork,” she said. For tests, we don’t have a lot. We have one final exam each nine weeks, and we do either a project or papers that will count as our other test grade.

“I try to keep it similar, but I teach a little bit differently,” Mrs. Maldonado said. Teaching differently than Mrs. Henry doesn’t matter to me, and we try to keep all of the work and projects the same for both classes.

For example, the STEM project we are currently working on right now for vermicomposting, aeroponics, and hydroponics, and the projects are the same for both classes.

Mrs. Maldonado’s passion for teaching started in 2007. “In high school and college, I really wanted to become a teacher. My statistics teacher and my college professor made me love teaching and want to teach when I got older,” she said.

“Also, my parents wanted me to become a teacher. Nothing will stop you in life unless you give up on your dream,” they said.

After Mrs. Maldonado got her teaching degree at the University of Texas, “Mrs. Maldonado taught for 27 years,” with 26 years at Warren High School, and this is her first year teaching at Alamo Heights Junior School.

When Mrs. Maldonado moved to Alamo Heights Junior School, “She found her favorite spot in the STEM building. The best place to teach is in my classroom because everyone listens to me when I teach,” she said.

From students to family, everyone appreciates Mrs. Maldonado when she teaches. Teaching looks like a small job, but for Mrs. Maldonado, it is the highlight of her day.