Carla Reyes’ math students at East End Community School (EECS) love it when they can get her to throw a shoe.
It’s a celebration of success, an homage to Ileen DaPonte, her freshman math teacher at Portland High School. “She’d get super excited when someone would finally get an answer after struggling with it,” Reyes recalled. “Once, she stood on a desk. Another time, she took her shoe off and chucked it across the room. I’ve adopted that excitement for my math class. My kids love it. They’re always like, ‘Is this a take off your shoe moment, Ms. Reyes?’”
Reyes was born and raised on Munjoy Hill and was one of the first students to attend East End Community School when it opened in 2006. In her senior year at PHS, she thought that she wanted to be a teacher so she volunteered to tutor with the Rise and Shine program at EECS, where her love for the school and the community was reignited.
She attended the University of Southern Maine for teacher education, finishing in 3 years thanks to college credit she earned while still in high school. Her first teaching job out of college was in Auburn; she completed much of her master’s in ESOL that year.
When she returned to Portland Public Schools, she taught 6th grade immersion math at Lyman Moore, where she reconnected with Robert Miller, her 8th grade science teacher. His encouragement had a big impact on her confidence. “He saw me as a learner, first and foremost. He always made it known to me that I could be successful. I worked with him that year and still see him to this day. He was really wonderful.”
The following year, Reyes finished her master’s in ESOL and returned to EECS to teach kindergarten, realizing that many students struggled with math because they didn’t understand the language used in problem sets. She quietly began doctoral work in literacy instruction, later joining the 5th grade team to help them teach reading to newcomers.
This May, she had a conversation with Principal Marley about her desire to focus on ESOL for all grades for the upcoming school year. She surprised him by explaining that not only was she very interested, but she would soon publish her dissertation on Equity in Literacy Instruction in K-5 education. She had kept her PhD studies under wraps.
Her students were the first at EECS to call her Dr. Reyes. “I actually told them before I told my colleagues. I told them that the reason I teach here is because I went to school here. They’re very proud of me, and now they talk about being doctors themselves, whether it’s a medical doctor or doctor of psychology.”
That calls for a 21-shoe salute.
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