Wearing a perpetual smile and building trusting relationships, Orangewood Elementary School kindergarten teacher Karla Toledo has quickly established herself as a leader among her peers and an inspiration to her students.
For her passion in implementing Orangewood’s International Baccalaureate (IB) and Spanish Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs, Toledo has been recognized as West Covina Unified’s 2018-19 Teacher of the Year in just her second year in the District.
“This is a tremendous honor,” Toledo said. “IB’s emphasis on tolerance is one of the most important messages you can deliver to a child. I love coming to work every day because I enjoy the family atmosphere and the opportunity to work collaboratively across all grade levels.”
Since arriving at Orangewood in 2017-18, Toledo has been named a Capturing Kids’ Hearts Process Champion – recognizing her efforts to boost campus culture – and is a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton’s Educational Technology Master’s program.
“Karla is the most approachable person I know, and her dedication to her students is unmatched,” Orangewood Principal Janet Shirley said. “Orangewood has gone through many changes and Karla is always in front leading the charge with a huge smile on her face.”
Led by teachers like Toledo, Orangewood Elementary students are challenged to become globally minded learners through the IB Primary Years Programme and develop bilingualism and biliteracy through Spanish and Mandarin DLI instruction.