ALUMNI PROFILE josefina cabrera PROGRAM
Masters in Education, MAE/Teaching Credential – 2011 CURRENT JOB
Founder of La Escuelita en Casa PhD student, Leadership and Change Program
The
Power of a
she is proud to have joined the board of directors of padres
unidos/united parents, an organization that
helps parents advocate
for equity in education and aims to close the
gap between white and latino students.
12
Teacher
“Raise the bar high and they will reach it!” says Josefina Cabrera of the students she teaches. Too often English language learners are assigned to “special” classes and expectations of them are set low. A warm and caring woman in her 40s, Josefina prefers to set the bar high for her kids. At age 11, she came to the United States an “illegal alien” and despite considerable obstacles, she has succeeded as a teacher. It wouldn’t have happened without the support of a few teachermentors who encouraged to her to reach for her dreams. The town of Apatzingan de la Constitucion de 1814, the actual name of the place where she grew up, is in the Mexican state of Michoacán. She was one of seven children. Her father died when she was three, leaving a hole in her heart and her family penniless. Her mother struggled to find menial jobs to feed the children. When Josefina was ten, her
mother left for the United States for a better life and gave her the overwhelming task of caring for her two younger siblings. “There were no explicit instructions as to how I was supposed to handle the responsibilities. I would go to the market in the morning, cook for my younger brother and sister, do our laundry (by hand), and care for them, all before going to school in the fourth grade in the afternoon. I was still getting As and Bs; I still managed to play as a young girl should do. We managed to stay healthy and survive for eight months before my mom came to bring us with her to the United States. This would become the next important chapter in my life.” The border crossing was harrowing and took five attempts, with Josefina and her siblings bundled in layers of clothes to protect them from the freezing night air.