Biography

Maria Guadalupe Rios was born in Mexico and raised in California. Her parents came to California to work as farm laborers and she became the first in her family to go to college. She is currently a Spanish teacher in Calaveras County and has been in the field of education since 2000. She began as a bilingual/ELD paraprofesssional working with K-12 English learners in Davis, CA. In addition to her work with English learners, she contributed in different capacities, as translator, family literacy facilitator, CBET tutor, and parent outreach coordinator. She has a great deal of experience working with English learners and their families. Her parent outreach experience includes planning culturally relevant activities and creating a newsletter to increase parent involvement. At her current school she serves as a Family Group Facilitator for Safe Schools Ambassadors, an organization that promotes respect and tolerance among the student body. Additionally, she also started a MEChA club at her school to promote higher education among Latino students. She attended UC Davis and received a BA in Spanish, a teaching credential in Spanish, and an MA in Education, focusing her research on the development of narrative skills using familiar children stories. She has shown to be a strong advocate for second language learners and strives to foster cultural awareness in her classroom.