“Teaching bilingual students was the hardest job I have ever done, but it was also the most rewarding.”
Huebner Elementary Summer School Principal Delia Gauna spent more than a decade teaching North East ISD English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Olmos Elementary School, Ridgeview Elementary School and Stone Oak Elementary School.
Growing up, English was not her first language.
And school did not necessarily come easy to her.
So, perhaps it was the things she was not that made Gauna what she IS for so many NEISD students.
“Being a bilingual student myself, I know learning English is hard. It was a struggle for me,” said Gauna. “But I had great teachers and mentors.”
In fact, she spent time in summer school to make sure she wasn’t held back.
“I was not about to stay in a lower grade,” said Gauna. “I said, ‘I will do whatever I need to do so that I don’t stay behind,’ and sure enough, I went to summer school programs, and I was able to be with the same age group that I should have been with.”
Gauna is now an Assistant Principal at Roan Forest Elementary School and has spent the last five summers overseeing summer schools and helping students, like she used to be, get caught up and back on track.
“It’s amazing, but it takes that special educator to make that difference. I was lucky to have that special person that said you are going to do it. So I am looking to continue growing as an administrator and have my own school year-round and empower teachers to do their best and impact students and student growth. That is what we are here for.”
