Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/851305
18 ADVOCATE | SUMMER 2017 Around AEA K inora Hernandez has been a teacher in the Kyrene School District for 26 years. She was a 4th grade teacher for 17 years, a Structured English Immersion (SEI) Teacher for 1 year, and a SEI Coach for the past 8 years. She has built a reputation for herself with the commitment she has for teachers to help support them meet the needs of their English Language Learning (ELL) students. She can be assigned to 3 to 5 different schools, yet she makes sure that her ELL students get the same attention, no matter how thin she's spread across the district. She makes an effort to attend each of her schools' special events, so that the students, staff, and parents know that she's part of their community. During Kinora's 2nd year as an SEI Coach, she created an English Language Development (ELD) Summer School Class for ELL students who aren't profi cient in English. All of the ELL students who attend receive an SEI Scholarship to attend the class for free. She also developed a registration process and a curriculum for the classes. This will be her 7th year organizing and teaching the ELD Summer School Class in Kyrene. Kinora holds a Cultural Celebration during the class, where her ELL students and their families share their history, customs, and food with the rest of the class. Parents have positively commented about the impact it has made on their children, as well as bringing families together from different countries that understand the struggles of learning how to acclimatize to a new country. Over the years, Kinora has taught many ELL students from all over the world including, Mexico, Columbia, Vietnam, Nepal, India, Poland, Somalia and several different Native American Reservations around the Southwest. She has shown compassion, patience, and a true respect for their homelands and cultures. Kinora volunteers on a regular basis at the Kyrene Family Resource Center (KFRC) during the school year and over the summer. She started volunteering at the KFRC when her children were young, to teach her sons compassion, empathy and the importance of service. Kinora has also been a Sunday School teacher for the past 10 years, which is in the Kyrene School District boundaries. Kinora is an active member of Valley Interfaith Project (VIP). She has attended their meetings, forums, and Civic Academy, which tackles diffi cult educational and social issues. Kinora has introduced VIP to her church, hoping that they will become members and offer Civic Academies for their congregation. Kinora is an educational mentor and leader. She advocates for education daily. Kinora became a Kyrene Education Association (KEA) member during her student teaching. Her 2nd year teaching she became the Building Representative and continued for 17 years, until she left the school. Kinora has also been the KEA Vice President, KEA Membership Chair, KEA Ethnic Minority Chair, KEA Human and Civil Rights Chair, and Arizona Education Association (AEA) Region 9 Alternate Director. Kinora currently serves as the AEA Region 9 Director and is the AEA AEA Christa McAuliffe "I Touch the Future, I Teach" Award Winner Kin a H nandez