Rene Romero

Rene Romero is an eleventh and twelfth-grade International Baccalaureate Language
and Literature teacher at South Hills High School in the Covina Valley Unified School
District. As an International Baccalaureate teacher, Mr. Romero uses his own
background as an English Learner from East Los Angeles to make sure that his
classroom is a rigorous, yet inclusive and supportive environment. He believes that
every student deserves classrooms that see their potential, not their limitations.
In Mr. Romero’s classroom you will find enthusiastic students collaboratively sharing
perspectives and making connections to their own lives as they analyze poems and
novels designed to develop rigorous discussion and thinking. His ideal day is one where
“students lead the class and each other in crossing a threshold of discovery.” He sees
their class routines, like peer feedback, as more than just strategies, but as “rehearsals
for the courage the world demands.”

Although Mr. Romero’s father dropped out of school after eighth grade and never felt
welcomed or able, Mr. Romero knows that a person’s intelligence and worth can never
solely be defined by a classroom. To that end, he asserts that, “I teach to ensure that no
student crosses the threshold of my classroom and feels small, silenced, or invisible.”
In helping to create the International Baccalaureate Program, he solidified his beliefs
that: Potential isn’t measured. It’s revealed through opportunity and support.
Rigor isn’t about exclusion. It’s about engagement and meaningful material.
And the most powerful learning happens when students see themselves in the
curriculum.

In Mr. Romero’s words, “I want my classroom to be seen as the sacred space where
students realize and remember their worth. And in that remembering, we can cross
thresholds together. Let’s build classrooms where every student can say, as my father
never could: ‘I belong.’”