Now in his 12 th year of teaching, Mr. Yanez serves as English Department Chair at his high school. Freddy earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and his Master of Arts in Education Curriculum and Instruction from Ottawa University. Chicanos Por La Causa recognized Mr. Yanez in 2006 with their “Esperanza Award for Exemplary Latino Educator.”  

• “I (first) became a teacher in the very same high school my parents attended (Gilbert High School). I wanted to be a successful English teacher, of course, but I also wanted to heighten the curricular relevancy for all students – especially our minority students. It was there that I worked with ELL and mainstream students, and I created a Southwest Literature program for the district that focuses on the multicultural literatures of the West. I am very proud of this class and its popularity with our senior students. I think it resonates and affords a fair look at a part of the contemporary American literary tradition. I continue to teach this class, and I want my students to come to know and celebrate the diversity of our regional and national identity.”

• “Education is always about creating and fostering positive relationships with the students we serve and ensuring that all have access to learning. This means that in addition to the prescribed curriculum and supplemental material presented during class, intangible personal qualities such as character, integrity, and responsibility are also emphasized. More globally then, education is chiefly concerned with improving community and society one class at a time, one young person at a time.”

• “Multiple measurements (not simply two multiple-choice test scores) should be used to help determine student learning and school success. These measurements could be combinations of school or district assessments, teacher-developed instruments, student maintained portfolios, college enrollment rates, dropout/graduation rates, and a host of others. Standards should recognize that different students learn at different rates, in different ways, and begin at different levels; they should measure progress over an academic year and acknowledge a student’s gains and the school’s efforts. Finally, we should move away from labeling, stigmatizing, penalizing, to celebrating and acknowledging success, using growth and improvement results over multiple measurements to guide instruction and professional development.”

• A fellow English teacher at Desert Ridge High School says, “To know Freddy is to know that his door is always open for guidance and support, whether it is a teacher needing inspirational ideas for the classroom, or a student searching for guidance on his/her research paper. While there are many who may be equally qualified, there are none who could lead such an eclectic group of teachers with the kindness, dedication and compassion that Freddy has. He has yet to be challenged for the position (as English Department Chair) in six years, and it is unlikely that he will!”