Staff members everywhere in the canyon make events and school life run smoothly. Teachers, principals, and counselors alike all keep Canyon Vista in a top-notch school. However, there are some hidden aspects to Canyon Vista that are not as acknowledged as our principal is. Some students at Canyon Vista can work in classrooms, but still need a little extra help. These teachers that help these students are not well-known, or even talked about that much. They are under-appreciated for what they do.

Mrs. Zamarripa is one of these teachers. She travels around with these students, helping them in their classes. She has been teaching for 20 years and has worked with many different students in many different grade levels. Mrs. Zamarripa, who also goes by Mrs. Z., is usually assigned to certain children, and goes to their classes to help them. However, it’s very important to her to not single that student out. “I try not to pinpoint that student out, I try to make it look like I’m working with everybody, not just them, so they don’t feel like they’re being pinpointed out,” Mrs. Z. said.

But, there is always something new to learn in anything, even when you have been working at it for 8 years. “I’ve definitely learned a lot about children with different disabilities,” Mrs. Z. adds. Even though Mrs. Z. has had so many different experiences, and has worked in many different schools with so many different students, there is always something new to learn from her job. “I have three sons of my own, and one was ADHD and one was ADD. I knew nothing about that at the time, but then I started with the school system and I saw so many children with the same thing, but they had it so much worse than my own did, so it taught me to appreciate my own kids more,”  Mrs. Z. said. She is a very important member of the Canyon Vista staff, even if she isn’t always acknowledged for it.

However, despite being not very well-known around Canyon Vista, Mrs. Z. has worked here for three years. She has taught a number of different students, and each was a different experience. She planned to retire this year, but decided not because she will miss her students. “I kind of want to retire, but I know I’ll miss the kids,” Mrs. Z. said. Instead, Mrs. Z. is planning to retire in a couple years.

Canyon Vista is like a delicate machine–every piece must run smoothly or the whole thing will collapse. Despite being a part of Canyon Vista that many people don’t consider or even think about, Mrs. Z. is very important to Canyon Vista. Without her, students who need a little extra help couldn’t grow and learn as well as they do with her help. Canyon Vista is lucky to have Mrs. Z. as a part of it!