Our Lady Of The Snows Teacher Awarded By SXU

CHICAGO, IL - A second grade teacher at Our Lady of the Snows School on the South Side has been awarded the Outstanding Beginning Teacher award from Saint Xavier University. Samantha Garcia, a 2016 SXU alum, was honored for her selection Tuesday night at an awards ceremony in Springfield.

Garcia was a substitute teacher for OLS in the spring of 2017 before she was offered a full-time position teaching second grade for this school year. She also tutors students after school and volunteers in the evenings at the Berwyn Public Library.

"Ms. Garcia’s teaching curriculum at Our Lady of the Snows has helped students develop an interactive learning atmosphere," according to a news release from the school. "As a bilingual teacher Ms. Garcia applies diversity in her lessons by including it to their reading. Students read a wide range of books about other children in the world."

Garcia was enrolled in the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education in their English as a
New Language program, which ensures that English language learners thrive and helps teachers develop a deeper understanding of the process of language.

Top photo: From left, Joyce Willenborg, principal of Our Lady of the Snows; Ms. Samantha Garcia; Dr. Ruth Rohlwing, Saint Xavier University professor / Photo provided