Santa Rosa teacher draws from past to ready young Hispanic students for school

When Areli Carranza says she’s right at home teaching at Taylor Mountain Elementary School in southeast Santa Rosa, she means it in a literal sense.

Carranza, 30, attended school in the very district where she now teaches transitional kindergarten, a readiness program that prepares students for academic and social success when they head into traditional kindergarten.

A native of Michoacán, Mexico, Carranza started kindergarten at Bellevue Elementary School in the Bellevue Union School District with an early knowledge of letters and numbers but no English-language skills. Her farmworker father and homemaker mother spoke only their native Spanish.

Now working at a campus that’s about 75 percent Hispanic, with the majority of the student body from economically disadvantaged households, she aspires to do what teachers did for her as a little girl immersed in an unfamiliar environment. She hopes to make a difference for all students and families, particularly those coping with language barriers.

“I feel like I relate to this community. I’ve been where they are, not knowing a single word,” she said. “I feel like I could help this community more than any other one.”

She recalls having kind, supportive teachers and a positive experience as a student, but she never imagined she would return to the district to start her own career in education.

Elizabeth Flores, her sixth-grade teacher, tipped her off to teaching openings shortly after Carranza earned her teaching credential and BCLAD bilingual and cross-cultural certificate from UC Davis. She was thrilled to step into kindergarten again, this time as a teacher.

After a year of teaching standard kindergarten at Taylor Mountain, Carranza became the school’s lone transitional kindergarten teacher. She’s now beginning her sixth year at the campus, home of the Hawks.

Her teaching skills and dedication to students, staff and families haven’t gone unnoticed. She was selected as runner-up to the Sonoma County Office of Education’s teacher of the year and is Taylor Mountain’s current teacher of the year.

“She is a role model for all of our students and is very appreciated by our community,” wrote Bellevue Superintendent Alicia Henderson, Ph.D., in her letter supporting Carranza for the countywide honor.

Taylor Mountain Principal Tawny Fernandez noted that under Carranza’s “calm, gentle and dedicated tutelage,” students gain a foundation for success as they progress through grade levels.

Carranza is humbled by the praise. She credits her students, who start her class as young as 4, with trying their hardest each day. She provides structure, a daily routine and gentle encouragement and direction.

“The children are so open to new things at this age and so curious and are always asking questions,” she said.

Carranza said she recognizes her key role in introducing students to school. For most, she is the first teacher they encounter. She welcomes students at the start of the school year and again in January, at the beginning of the new semester.

“Every year before school starts,” she said, “I stop and think, ‘Wow. This is a huge responsibility.’ The first day is so nerve-racking for me. It is really huge.”

She wants students to embrace school as a warm, welcoming place for fun and learning. In her classroom, they integrate play with learning and receive instruction at an individual pace.

“I can stop and teach them when they need it,” Carranza said.

She often reflects on her approaches, consults with other transitional kindergarten teachers and has open communication with parents, staff and students. In addition, she is working toward her National Board Certification and frequently takes classes at Santa Rosa Junior College for career and personal enrichment, everything from ceramics to winemaking.

In August, the school district also introduced preschool programs at each of its sites, something Carranza believes will only add to the advantages of the transitional kindergarten program, providing students with even greater opportunities.

In her classroom, Carranza strives to give students and families a sense of place. She opens her door half an hour before school starts so working parents can chat or set up appointments for longer discussions.

“You can get more face-to-face time then. A lot of them work, so I get more parents in the morning than the afternoon,” she said.

Carranza encourages parents to participate in their children’s education however they can. She suggests talking to students, reading to them, attending school functions or simply applauding their achievements.

“They can make a huge impact,” she said. “They’re very important.”

She credits her own parents with encouraging her and two younger sisters to value education and to strive for rewarding careers. All three women are college graduates with professional careers, a huge source of pride within the family.

Carranza credits her mother as a big influence in her life, saying “She’s my hugest role model.” Her mother encouraged her daughters to work hard for academic success and reach for opportunities she and her husband didn’t have while growing up in Mexico.

Carranza always took school seriously. After earning her diploma from Elsie Allen High School in 2004, she pursued her bachelor’s degree at Davis. She found her calling when she took an education class to satisfy an undergraduate requirement. After helping out in a grade-school classroom, she knew that teaching was her destiny.

“It was the feeling I fit in,” she said. “It was what I wanted to do.”

Starting her teaching career at Taylor Mountain was a homecoming in several ways. Her family helped set up her classroom, and she was in a familiar place with former teachers cheering for her success.

Then as now, Carranza felt like she was back home.