Elizabeth Espinosa-London chosen National Bilingual Teacher of the Year

Elizabeth Espinosa-London was in class when she got the phone call informing her that she had been selected National Bilingual Teacher of the Year. Even though she told her students the good news while she was jumping up and down with excitement, they asked the inevitable question: "What does this mean?" As English language learners, "they could share my joy, but they couldn't comprehend why until I was able to break it down into comprehensible pieces for them. But that's what I do best."

The road to winning the award was a three-year journey for Espinosa-London, a member of the Association of Rowland Teachers and a long-term association rep. In 2002, the local chapter of the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) gave her an award. In 2004, she was selected as CABE's state winner, beating out nominees from 60 chapters. And now, she has beaten out 39 other candidates for the national honor, bestowed at the National Association of Bilingual Educators conference in San Antonio.

A fifth-grade bilingual teacher at Rorimer Elementary School in La Puente, she jokingly calls her classroom a "three-ring circus." She provides four instructional programs for 33 students: English only or mainstream; English immersion for new arrivals; bilingual education taught primarily in Spanish; and Specially Defined Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE). She's able to manage the mix with the help of two aides and lots of small group instruction.

A teacher for 22 years, Espinosa-London has long been a strong proponent for bilingual education. She has served as president and vice president for the Puente Hills CABE chapter and has been an officer for 12 of the 14 years in which she's been a member. She mentors other teachers and served as a CLAD and BCLAD trainer before universities made it part of the credentialing process. She also actively promotes parental rights in regard to bilingual education - letting parents know they may sign a waiver to request bilingual instruction rather than English-only classes and demonstrating strategies that Latino parents can utilize to help their children succeed in school.

Espinosa-London has an open-door policy for parents, especially those who need information on how to help their children at home. "They may not realize the language they use at home can be a means to helping their students learn," says Espinosa-London. "Sometimes parents don't realize how critical it is to become part of the team that's educating their children."

She's also helped raise scholarship money for bilingual schools in her area.

"School districts need to embrace bilingual education as a strategy or intervention that helps reach students," says Espinosa-London. "These days, students come to us with fewer skills and less parent involvement. This is a way to plug in their prior knowledge, environment and culture to help them acquire English and academic skills."

She thinks she was chosen for the award for her accumulated accomplishments and for her teaching style and rapport with students. "I have a very warm style that is still very structured," she explains. "It's business, but it's also playful. We do a lot of hands-on things like cooking and singing to help them access the English language. I do the best I can to make it fun for the kids."

In her new role, she has been asked to give numerous media interviews and was invited to speak at a legislative hearing. "I still find it hard to fathom that, out of everybody in the nation, they selected me for this award," she says. "Sometimes I still have to pinch myself."