This week at the elementary school programs, some of the co-teachers were interviewed about the challenges as well as joys of working with the young students. Many of the co-teachers like to work with the children and enjoy the curiosity they have for life and hunger to try new things.
Maria Tec-Poot, co-teacher at Marshall Elementary School, likes working with the children. She enjoys helping the students by getting involved with educational and fun activities. She really enjoys working on the art activities with the students. She likes to get involved with the children to show them anything is possible when you try. The students get an opportunity to focus on activities and Maria gets to help the students succeed. Working as a co-teacher in the classroom gives her and the students a chance to learn and have a good time this summer.
Jessica Villa, another co-teacher at Marshall Elementary School, likes the support she receives from the other teachers as a 
first-time co-teacher at Mission Graduates. She likes to teach art to the children and the support lets her get involved in the activities from planning the project all the way through to see the final results of her lesson through the artwork done by the kids. Despite the challenges of being a co-teacher, she loves it because of the support and involvement from the other teachers and doing activities with the children. She looks forward to continue building relationships with the teachers and students.
Cheery Huang, co-teacher at Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School and Bryant Elementary School, enjoys working with children, especially those in her class this summer. She has been working with kids for some time before being a co-teacher with Mission Graduates. Cheery is majoring in sociology and may want to do something in the field of teaching in the future. She said the kids are fun to be with when they are having fun with activities. Spending time with the children is her favorite thing about being a co- teacher. She likes to have the kids working together on an assignment or playing out at recess. This is her first summer being a co-teacher at Mission Graduates.
Kevin Isuiza, another co-teacher at Flynn and Bryant Elementary, enjoys interacting with the children in his class. He is always there to help the students when they are unsure of a project or need help with reading. One of the most memorable times this summer was going to Lake Anza. Kevin made sure the children felt comfortable before going into the water to guarantee they felt safe. He said making sure the children feel secure is important because it will make them feel at ease. Kevin is studying Urban Studies in college and in the future sees himself working with different communities to help children.
Keri N
go, another co-teacher at Flynn and Bryant Elementary, likes teaching and mentoring the children she works with at Mission Graduates. Keri said mentoring is important for children because it provides a positive role-model. She said the mentors should be older, in her opinion, because you can look up to and ask the individual for guidance. She likes the sense of curiosity among the children. The exploration the children participate in is refreshing for her to see. She enjoys how the kids are willing to try new things. Some of the most memorable times for Keri happen in the morning because the children come to school with fun and interesting stories. Keri is a science major and in the future, she sees herself volunteering with children to help with STEM courses to encourage children to take an interest in science.
We look forward to see what the rest of the summer has in store. Thank you co-teachers for all of your hard work this summer!