Ms. Mary Chavez was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Tarleton State University and she is also ESL certified.

During her spare time she loves to spend time with family, watch movies, read books, and dance to ZUMBA. Her favorite book series is Harry Potter. Ms. Chavez's happy place is Disney World! "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."-Walt Disney

I'm from New York by way of the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. After yesterday's crushing defeat, I am finally a Cowboy's fan (Don't tell my brothers!) I have worked in education for close to twenty years. I have always wanted to do Kindergarten, but was never afforded the opportunity, until last year. I loved it just like I knew I would and I am loving it here at Sunrise! I am bilingual and work daily at passing the BTLPT (Voy a aprobar un dia!) I love everything about Texas, especially brisket. Y'all can keep that heat!

 Mrs. Maria Ojeda was born and raised in Colombia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Modern Languages (Spanish & English) from La Salle University. Mrs. Ojeda began her career teaching in high school 15 years ago. She moved to Texas in 2015, and worked hard to get her teaching certification in bilingual education supplemental (EC-12), as well as Languages Other Than English - Spanish (EC-12).

Mrs. Ojeda is married, and a proud mother of a grown girl. She loves reading, travelling with her family and working out are part of her daily routine.

Her favorite quote: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." ~ Nelson Mandela.

I was born in Durango, Mexico. I came to the United States when I was 5 years old. I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was in 3rd grade. I attended University of North Texas and graduated in 2020 with a degree in bilingual education. I started teaching in August of 2020 at Sunrise McMillan, which has been a 3rd grade teacher for two years. Now I am back teaching a bilingual kindergarten and feel very excited about starting a new year. I decided to work in education because when I came to the United States, I only knew Spanish. Along the way, I had great teachers that helped me overcome the fear of a new language without forgetting where I came from. Now I hope that I can help students learn a new language and at the same time feel proud of their heritage.