Crediting her childhood growing up all over the world—from Columbia to Peru to Spain and to Mexico—this month’s Teacher of the Month, Stacey Steele-Yue, is able to teach her students Spanish culture in ways that they never could have imagined.

A member of the foreign language department, Steele-Yue teaches AP Spanish Language and loves changing a students mindset from taking the class just because they want another AP, to being extremely passionate about Spanish and hispanic culture.

“Each year [my students] become my children for a short time and I truly treasure all of them,” Steele-Yue said. “It gives me joy when they let me know that they plan to continue studying Spanish and might even double major or minor in it.”

Throughout her 22 year teaching career, Steele-Yue still manages to find innovative ways to motivate her students and help them succeed.

“Having a strong rapport with students and being able to relate to them on a personal level makes it much easier to motivate them on days when the material is tough or just a bit boring,” Steele-Yue said.

While Steele-Yue teaches AP Spanish Lang, she is able to teach any level of Spanish due to her extensive cultural background in Spanish culture. Originally in the business world, Steele-Yue decided teaching was the direction she wanted to go in.

“Growing up, moving so much led to two things: my love for the Hispanic culture and an ability to adapt and build relationships easily,” Steele-Yue said. “I believe [my experiences] have made me a more well-rounded teacher who is able to draw on those experiences when preparing my classroom lessons.”

Steele-Yue’s bubbly personality and wide-range of knowledge definitely have an impact on her students. While Steele-Yue gives credit to her students, her students give all the credit to her.

“Ms. Steele is always so helpful and does such a great job preparing us for the exam,” junior Jobeth Liss said.

Because of the rigorous course material and anxiety leading up the AP exam Steele-Yue always tries to add humor and talk about current events (in Spanish, of course) to liven up the class.

“Over the years we [Steele-Yue and her students] have laughed together, we have shared the sorrows of what has happened in the world, their kind words have lifted me up and in return I hope I have touched their lives,” Steele-Yue said.

Because of the many languages offered at CHS and the high level Spanish Steele-Yue teaches, many students will not have the privilege of her being their teacher. Still, she is thankful to all the students that have had her for showing their appreciation and recognizing her for the award.

“It is truly an honor to receive this recognition especially as I work with so many teachers who are dedicated and passionate about this profession as well,” Steele-Yue said. “Gracias por el honor.”