My teaching teammates, Rhonda & Rebecca, have stayed not only colleagues but dear friends for more than thirty years. What a trio we made at Washington middle school in Albuquerque!
Rhonda
Our meeting was hilarious! In 1991, Joey Vigil, the principal, hired me at Washington middle school, then he left before school started, and Mary Tarango became my new principal. At the time, I lived in Raton, New Mexico, so I made a trip to Albuquerque for the interview. Joey had suggested I might want to meet the teacher I would be “team-teaching” with. So, I returned to Albuquerque once more in mid-summer, after setting up a meeting.
When I met with Jane Duncan in her classroom, we hit it off wonderfully, until I said, “I have these plans for my language arts class. What do you think?”
“Wait a minute! I teach language arts!” she exclaimed. We knew there was a mess-up, so we ran down to the office. Mary apologized and said, “Larada, you teach with Rhonda Sandoval. Give her a call and maybe you two can meet before you go back to Raton.”
So, I called Rhonda and asked when she wanted to meet. “The week before school starts works for me,” she replied! What a difference!
When we met, Rhonda said she grew up in Cuba—I hadn’t met a Cuban before. I responded, “Boy, you don’t have much of an accent.”
She laughed, “Cuba, New Mexico, not the country of Cuba.”
So, our team was formed! We worked together for 8 and ½ years. Originally Rhonda taught Science, Math and Social Studies; I taught Language arts, Literature and Spanish. What a heyday in education this was! We were responsible for everything for our students: discipline, curriculum, everything! I loved this “Middle School” model. Being a sociology major, Rhonda taught me class management skills, focusing any disciplinary action as a learning experience for the student.
During this time, we did interdisciplinary units. When we did a unit, we focused lessons on all content areas, and what a rich learning experience for our students instead of worksheets and seat work. An example was our Future Cities unit with a science focus. Students begged to stay in at lunch to work on this project. We also did a Native American unit where we lined our hallway with miniature teepees. We had potlucks as often as we could, thoroughly enjoying the delicious Mexican food provided by the parents. I really learned what team-teaching was with Rhonda.
One year, I found a wonderful middle school Halloween play with lots of vampire parts! One of our educational assistants translated the whole play into Spanish. So, for each class, we had an English version and a Spanish version. My focus was the students memorizing their lines. Rhonda shocked me the first year with her set design. Halloween morning, we arrived early with students waiting for us to put their make up on. What a day we had! That became one of my favorite units working with Rhonda!
One favorite yearly celebration I organized with my students was a surprise birthday party for Rhonda in January. Our students loved helping me and kept the secret! I’m sure the first year we surprised her, but every year after that, she always acted surprised, and it blessed the students so much!
Our relationship grew past just colleagues, and we became fast friends. We took care of each other during personal times of stress over the years, and it continued after I left Washington middle school. When Mom was sick in the hospital, Rhonda came once with a homemade pie for us and then just to visit. And our friendship stands as strong today as it did in 1991—33 years ago! We get together periodically to catch up on each ourselves’ lives.
Rebecca
Then at a certain point, our team of two grew to three. Mary, our principal, asked Rhonda to take a student teacher. We discussed it at the time and decided it was time to grow. Because of her amazing student teaching time with us, Mary hired Rebecca, and she joined our team the next year, and our teaching assignments change. Rhonda taught Math and Science; Rebecca taught Social Studies and Literature; I taught Language Arts and Spanish. We marveled at how easily Rebecca fit in with us! We loved her positivity! She warned us she would have a boat after she graduated. We laughed at the thought of it on a teacher’s salary. At the end of the year, we bought her a Barbie boat for her graduation party. And guess what? Rebecca had a boat within a year.
I’m not sure how many years the three of us worked together—those wonderful days all melt into one, but I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them. We worked hard and balanced it with delicious lunch times at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Liu’s, near the school. Often, we had “Friday Afternoon Club” times together after work at a local bar with other dear friends from La Washa, our dear nickname for Washington middle school. So many memorable times together—and they have continued.
Our Team Teaching Ended
So, at the end of 1999, I left Rhonda and Rebecca—one of the hardest decisions I ever made. Because I had been having an issue with the new principal, I had been looking at other schools. Then there was a gun incident with one of my students who brought a gun to shoot me, and my transfer to another school became a part of the agreement made as a result of that.
But the three of us stayed connected with dinners together, and we continued our involvement in each other’s lives. We attended a wedding of one of Rebecca’s daughters. When Mom died, Rhonda and Rebecca drove the four-hour drive to Trinidad, Colorado to Mom’s funeral to support me. After I retired, Rhonda threw a fun-filled party for me with several of our La Washa friends, including Mary, our principal. When Rebecca’s sister died a couple years ago and her dad died last year, Rhonda and I supported her by going to their funerals. Rhonda’s Dad died last year, so Rebecca, Carolyn (another La Washa teacher) and I drove to Cuba, New Mexico to support Rhonda and her mom.
Here thirty-some years later, we have a precious relationship, spanning so much change. In those years I’ve married three times and divorced twice. Rhonda and Rebecca stood up with me as two of my maids of honor at my marriage to Lin in 2011.
Now we get together occasionally—Christmas time for sure. We stay connect a lot through Rebecca’s texts about the current fundraiser for her granddaughter’s sport team or the lotto has gone off the map. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if I called either or both of them, they would be there immediately. That’s what thirty+ years of friendship and professional connections looks like!
Do you have women like this in your life? I have had so much fun celebration Women’s History Month with the women in my life. One more week to go! Join me next week for my celebration of the women in my life!
FINAL ROUND—At this time, I’m in 1st Place! Help keep me there! Vote for my book cover and make me the “Cover of the Month” queen. https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/17423/
Enjoy my recent interview on the podcast, The Writing Table
~ Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir available in audiobook format at the following places:
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