River Glen teacher wins statewide education award

By Melissa Matchak

At River Glen Elementary School, students begin their education in two languages: English and Spanish. To help facilitate the Spanish language education, Dolores Corpus, an instructional assistant, uses fun, easy concepts to teach the kindergarten students.

Corpus, who has helped teach Spanish at River Glen for 10 years, was recently named the instructional assistant of the year by the California Association for Bilingual Education. She will receive an award on Feb. 1, at a ceremony at the Los Angeles Civic Center.

River Glen, a two-way bilingual immersion school, is the only magnet school of its kind in the San Jose Unified School District. Corpus assists kindergarten teachers in teaching the young children Spanish. Corpus said that after approximately five months, 90 percent of the students can read and write in Spanish.

"I make concepts of colors, shapes and numbers fun and easy for the kids," Corpus said.

Corpus, who taught in Mexico for 10 years before coming to California 25 years ago, started assisting her children's teacher at Washington Elementary School in 1989. After one year there, she completed a bilingual education test and began as an instructional assistant at River Glen, where the bilingual program had been in effect for two years.

Corpus said she is honored to receive the award, and enjoys her job very much.

"When you do something you like, you do your best work," Corpus said.

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