Energetic, passionate, generous, and understanding are just some of the words used to describe Ms. Natali Alvarado and how she interacts with every single one of her students. Alvarado is a math teacher at Rancho Cucamonga High School and is also the Assistant Director of Student Achievement.
Student Achievement is a leadership program that focuses on recognizing students and staff. From organizing spirit weeks, to helping with rallies and various other activities on campus, Student Achievement has developed into an impactful program that makes RCHS a more positive environment for students and staff. Being an assistant director for this program takes dedication and diligence, which happens to come easy to Ms. Alvarado considering she naturally has both.
“Balancing SA and being a math teacher definitely has made me improve my time management skills,” Alvarado said. “I go to SA almost everyday during my free period (3rd period). Doing this means that I don’t have time during the day to plan lessons or grade, so I have to do all of that at home in my free time.”
Of course, her time and effort doesn’t go unnoticed.
“As the assistant director, she helps with everything in Student Achievement,” Director of Student Achievement Ms. Tiffini Ewing said. “She does too much to list… She’s on the interview panel, goes to SA camp, attends conferences, helps supervise workdays and rally setups, picks up supplies, meets with students, comes up with plans for how to execute rallies or IMPACT Week, etc. She does almost all of the same things as I do (I have to attend more meetings but that’s about it). She is very involved and I’m very lucky to have her as an assistant.”
Along with being a hardworking advisor for Student Achievement, Alvarado is also a beloved teacher by her students. This is only her third year teaching, but she is continually forming connections with students and it is evident that she values each and every student she has.
“The energy she brings to the classroom lights everyone in it up,” junior Joanna Gonzalez said about Ms. Alvarado.
Ms. Alvarado hosts tutoring during the week and Saturday school on some weekends. She wants all her students to be able to understand the lessons and succeed in her class.
She demonstrates how she cares for them in many ways, but one is having a daily mindful tracker so her students can express themselves before they start working.
When asked what her favorite part about teaching is, she said the students.
“But my favorite moment is when the math finally clicks for them and you see the glow/sense of accomplishment in them for figuring out a problem. Whether they figured it out in one minute, twenty minutes or after three days of tutoring, they still got there and I’m proud of them no matter what,” Alvarado said.
Surprisingly, math didn’t always come easy for Alvarado. She discovered her love for it through the teachers who taught it to her with patience and understanding.
“I actually hated math up until my senior year of high school!” Alvarado said. “I wasn’t one of those kids that understood math. I worked at a slower pace than my class because it would take me longer to understand what I was doing. I would eventually understand it, but I would have to work really hard.”
Alvarado not only learned math from her teachers, but also how to effectively support students.
“This was the moment I knew I wanted to be a math teacher. I know math is such a difficult subject and I understand what it feels like to struggle in math (I struggled my whole life with it),” Alvarado said. “I wanted to be that teacher that understood what it was like to struggle and helped students realize it’s okay to make mistakes, just like Ms Gerdes and Ms. Williams did for me.”
She graduated high school and attended Cal State San Bernardino for her math degree (Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics), and then went to the University of Redlands to get her Masters in Education and Teaching Credential in Math. According to Alvarado, she took 27 math classes in total!
Alvarado’s passion for teaching and advising Student Achievement comes from her experience as a student, which is one of the reasons why she is so patient and understanding with her own students. She prioritizes her students and forms genuine connections with them and thoroughly enjoys her roles as both a teacher and advisor for Student Achievement.
“I decided to be an assistant advisor for Student Achievement because I was in the SA for all four years in high school,” Alvarado said. I love everything this program stands for and this program helped me survive through high school. I wanted to give back to the program and offer my services and knowledge, as this program gave me so much when I was in high school.”
