A Clover Park School District story.
Our CPSD Staff Spotlight for Certificated Employees Week features Clover Park High School multilingual learner (MLL) teacher Lawrence Alvarez.
Lawrence has been an educator for 15 years and spent the first 11 teaching English in different countries, including the Philippines and Japan. “I come from a family of teachers, and it was never a question of whether I’d teach,” she said. “I only needed to figure out what subject, and my dad encouraged me to seek opportunities by traveling and teaching English.”
She met her husband, who grew up in University Place, while teaching in Japan and they decided to move to Lakewood after getting married. Soon after, Lawrence became an MLL teacher for Clover Park High School where she has spent the last four years.
“Working in Japan was life changing because the way they teach is very structured and they model things for students using English as the medium of instruction,” she said. “That helped me teach students here because my first language is Tagalog and many of my students’ first language is Spanish, so we’re more reliant on English as a common means to communicate.”
Lawrence’s experience living in different countries like Japan, where she did not know the language or culture, also helps her connect with her MLL students. “I can empathize, and I am very intentional about building relationships with my students,” she said. “This year I feel so connected with them and want to continue highlighting the linguistic and cultural assets that make them so special.”
Many of Lawrence’s students have big goals, such as becoming a lawyer or accountant, but they often join Lawrence’s class feeling discouraged because they do not speak the language.
“I try to always remind my students that the knowledge is there, it’s just in a different language and we will work together to make their goals happen,” she said. “It’s so amazing to see how much they grow and how they excel in their classes.”
