‘He’s a connector of people’: Palatine High Bilingual Biology teacher impacts both students and colleagues

Palatine High School’s Mauricio Orozco is that rare teacher whose excellence can be measured not only by his impact on his students but also his influence on colleagues as an instructional coach.

Now in the 15th year of his career, the former special education department head of Schaumburg High School is back in Palatine — where he attended Fremd — to teach Bilingual Biology and share his recognized insights on connecting with students with his fellow educators.

“I’m at a point where it feels like I’m just getting started, and yet, at the same time, it feels like I’ve been doing it all my life,” Orozco said. “It’s a great feeling!”

The regard in which he’s held by students, teachers and administrators is made clear by the fact he was Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211’s nominee for Illinois Teacher of the Year in 2025.

“It’s been such a blessing,” Palatine High School Principal Tony Medina said. “Not only is he a great leader, but the connection he makes with the students from similar backgrounds is incredible.”

Associate Principal Kimberly Glaser describes Orozco as a courageous educator and a strong catalyst for positive change.

“He’s a connector of people,” she said. “He’s a connector of resources. When we’re facing a potential challenge, he finds a way of building a bridge. He’s been such an asset for our building.”

Though it seemed Orozco had gravitated to special education, he accepted the challenge in 2023 to combine the language skills and science certification he already had to teach Bilingual Biology to students fluent in Spanish but building up their English.

On one typical day in his classroom reviewing the relationships between predators and prey, as well as living and non-living factors in an ecosystem, the focus on language affords the opportunity to even distinguish between frogs and toads in both Spanish and English.

For student Junior Rocha, the level of attentiveness among his classmates is what makes the course stand out.

“I was expecting something different,” he said. “The students are more respectful and pay attention.”

“When I need help, he helps,” student Dariana Flores said of Orozco. “The class is very interesting.”

Anderson Reyes said due to Orozco and the combination of languages, it’s the class he’s doing the best in.

“He’s a good teacher,” Reyes added. “He’s patient with the students. His way of teaching is very specific.”

“He’s very kind and explains things very well,” fellow student Mely Matus said. “The explanations make sense to me. I love the content and the subjects we’re learning about and the labs we’re doing during the class.”

Orozco said that while someone who was a special education department head might typically have stayed in that position, he recognized different ways he could be of value. Nevertheless, his experience in special education provided a foundation in finding ways to make material accessible to students.

And that approach is what he also tries to share with other teachers as an instructional coach.

Getting students to engage in their learning is the key to both his areas of responsibility. There’s a difference between classroom compliance and engagement, and his approach is based on his personal adage, “The ones doing the talking are the ones doing the learning.”

As he demonstrates through the use of video in his coaching, most teachers underestimate the amount they themselves are speaking in their classes.

Orozco believes teachers should be “warm demanders” of their students’ potential. Making them express their knowledge has also become the best approach to the new challenge of ensuring they use AI responsibly and have developed critical thinking skills outside of it, he added.

Special education teacher Abby Quijana, with whom Orozco cosponsors the inclusive Best Buddies program in which students in special ed and mainstream courses interact, said her colleague’s teaching skills helped inform her own.

“He is amazing,” she said. “In my first year, we worked a lot together. He really helped me my first year.”

Having grown up in and graduated from the same school district only 20 years ago, Orozco said there’s a lot of experiences he shares with his students. But perhaps one he doesn’t is having any doubt about what he wanted to do when he grew up.

His parents moved from Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood to Hoffman Estates specifically for the quality of the education. And he found himself inspired by his teachers from Palatine Township Elementary District 15 all the way up.

“I have known since I was yay-high what I wanted to do, and my parents were super supportive,” Orozco said. “Lucky me, because I didn’t have to struggle.”

Tips from a top teacher

1) People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

2) Check your ego at the door. You have to be OK with not knowing everything.

3) The ones doing the talking are the ones doing the learning.

4) Take every opportunity that comes your way that makes sense to you.

5) Teachers really have to be the models for how they want their classes to run.

6) Always have the lens of customer service. Always be aware of the impression you’re leaving.

— Mauricio Orozco, Palatine High School

Curriculum vitae: Mauricio Orozco

Education

Master of Arts in Instructional Leadership, Roosevelt University, 2017; Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction, National-Louis University, 2014; Bachelor of Science, Major: Biology, Minor: Secondary Education, Roosevelt University, 2010

Professional Educator License: 2010

Professional Experience

Bilingual Science teacher and instructional coach, Palatine High School, 2023-present

Special Education teacher and instructional coach, Palatine High School, 2019-2023

Special Education department head, Schaumburg High School, 2016-2019

Special Education teacher, Palatine High School, 2011-2016

Special Education teaching assistant, Palatine High School, 2010-2011