Laura E. Gómez Contreras

Laura E. Gómez Contreras, who is a third-grade multiple-subject teacher at Martin Elementary School in the Santa Ana Unified School District, Orange County.

Ms. Gomez has 25 years of teaching experience. She admits to feeling “invisible” as an English learner during her own student experience. It was not until tenth grade in French class where she felt “seen.” This relationship and experience were the beginning of her journey to become an educator.

Ms. Gomez is deeply committed to parent-family engagement in her classroom, her school and district. She engages her students’ families as partners in the education of their children, which can be seen through the presence of the families in her classroom. Families volunteer to attend special parent events, such as when students give oral reports (called “chit-chats”) and perform reader’s theater in her classroom.
Her commitment to increasing literacy among her students is shown through her understanding that she must differentiate instruction to meet her students where they are with reading.