At Krueger Middle School there are dozens of classes on the bottom floor.
But Room 35 is really special.
For a classroom focused on helping students read, this room’s history has a pretty cool story.
Cris Mireles taught English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) in room 35 the '90s.
“Krueger means a lot to me because my Nana taught here when she started her teaching career,” said Alexis Mireles. “My aunt started here when she started her teaching career. They both started in the ELAR department as well. Now I get to teach here.”
30 years later, Cris’ granddaughter is teaching the same subject in the exact same classroom.
“It means a lot me. She actually helped me put up my decorations in here and she said ‘this was my classroom when I taught here,’” said Alexis. “It kind of blows my mind. I still have her Krueger jacket from when she taught here.”
Alexis isn’t exactly sure when she decided to become a teacher.
But when made that decision, she knew she wanted to teach at North East ISD.
“I wanted to do my full residency at North East and I did,” said Alexis. “I got to student teach at Wilshire.”
As a student she attended Woodstone Elementary School, Wood Middle School, took a semester at Roosevelt High School and then graduated from LEE High School in 2013.
Her aunts, uncles and cousins followed a pretty similar path.
So, North East ISD is just a way of life for the Mireles family.
But to hear Alexis tell it, being a family is just a way of life in NEISD.
“There’s a closeness here. I feel like we are all a big family. We are all very close. Our cluster is close. Our campus is very close.”
One more pretty cool footnote in this story.
Alexis works next door to Dena Femmel.
Dena worked with Cris back in the '90s and is Alexis’ mentor now.
“Alexis is a natural teacher. She probably learned from her Nana and her aunt,” said Femmel. “It is neat to see some of the same characteristics in all three of them. They all loved kids, loved their jobs. There is definitely something to be said for families believing in what NEISD stands for.”
