Elk Grove teacher a finalist for state award
Editor's note: This story on Elk Grove High School teacher Ricardo Castro, one of 10 finalists for 2017 Illinois Teacher of the Year, appeared in the Illinois State Board of Education Weekly Message. The winner will be announced in October.
Ricardo "Ricky" Castro talks openly about his involvement with gangs as a young teen in Chicago. He freely admits he was a bad student on the verge of choosing an entirely different path in life.
Ricky credits caring teachers who listened and encouraged him through those difficult years with helping him make decisions that positively influenced him and guided him to the path he ultimately chose to take.
Ricky's parents were immigrants, and there wasn't much money. His early experiences with school were tainted by negative stereotypes, but as he says, "Having teachers that cared and challenged me, I learned how to commit to serious study and ask for assistance."
Those invaluable experiences were instrumental in his decision to become a teacher.
Ricky has now been a teacher for 10 years. He has been teaching English as a second language, English arts, and Spanish for the past three years at Elk Grove High School in Township High School District 214.
He puts a strong emphasis on helping his students develop what he calls biliteracy. He believes that helping students develop a proficiency in multiple languages gives them skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.
Under Ricky's careful guidance - and his collaboration with colleagues - 80 percent of Elk Grove's ninth-grade Latino English Learners qualified to move into "mainstream" courses in just one year.
He also teaches students about the importance of serving their community and its people. Many of his students are regular participants in various service projects, such as acting as formal mentors to their middle school peers who are considered at risk.
They are also creating and staffing a free weeklong summer camp for K-5 students who do not reside in a park district.
Ricky works tirelessly to create academic and leadership experiences for his students that truly transcend the confines of the current definition of education. Ricky is inspiring students and adults alike to become active citizens and leaders in a democratic society.
A parent shared this about Castro: "One of the most positive things that Mr. Castro has given my daughter is an unquenchable desire to be the best person that she to be. Mr. Castro has been teaching her to be a person of integrity, commitment, humility, and love. I am so glad that he teaches my daughter."