Maldonado Elementary School

Ms. Parra has been at Maldonado Elementary School for three years, after spending 11 years working at Miller Elementary School. As the library assistant, she says she enjoys helping students discover books they didn't know about and learn about new topics. Because Maldonado is a smaller school, she's able to get to know every student and help them develop a love for reading. 

Ms. Parra says she likes to set different themes throughout the year, decorating the library to match, to engage kids and she also holds contests to incentivize reading. 

Mrs. Ford is a longtime Tucson Unified teacher, having spent the last 20 years working in the district. She currently teaches 4th/5th grade band and orchestra at Maldonado, and orchestra at Banks Elementary School. She says she enjoys being an Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA) teacher because she can really personalize lessons to her students. 

She takes an open, caring approach to teaching, saying that everyone is inherently musical and she never judges students on their musical ability – she encourages them to continue being artistic and creative in whatever way speaks to them.

Mrs. Lopez has spent the last 13 years at Maldonado but has been part of the community for much longer, having grown up in the neighborhood. She is the English Language Development (ELD) teacher, which gives her the opportunity to grow with the students she works with and their famlies.

She also leads the NFL Play 60 initiative at Maldonado, which encourages students to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. She organizes activities such as field trips, visits from athletes and mentorship opportunities to help teach kids lifelong habits and get them invested in their own health.