Each time one of her fourth-grade students at Clarendon Elementary School in Phoenix raises their hand to participate, teacher Lorenna Villanueva Corrales - or "Maestra V" for short - views that as a sincere act of bravery.
"Even though they have been together the entire school year, some are on different journeys when it comes to being able to share their ideas and feeling comfortable," explains Maestra V.
Her students at Clarendon, part of the Osborn School District, are daring to dream with open hearts - or should we say "con los corazones abiertos" instead?
Either way, whether it's in English or Spanish, her students will understand you completely since it is a dual language classroom.
We met Maestra V at the beginning of the year in August and decided to follow up with her to see how the year went, to see what it was like getting to experience the world in dos idiomas!
"It's beautiful, not only to me but also to their parents," explains Maestra V about seeing her students improve their language skills little by little. "It makes me feel like it was all worth it - The repetition, teaching them to use a translation dictionary, and everything else we have done throughout the year teaching them."
Back when ABC15's Nick Ciletti first interviewed Maestra V in August, he noticed a book called "The Book of Mistakes," and Maestra V explained what she hoped it meant to her classroom.
"We never seek perfection," said Maestra V at the time. "We always seek progress."
It's a fantastic goal - even for us adults - but Maestra V admits it's not always easy for her students.
"I have a lot of students who really want to be the best version of themselves, and they think the best version is only accomplished through perfection, so I have to work with them and tell them I know you're not where you want to be, but let's think about where you were at the beginning of the year."
We also wanted to check in with Maestra V's students, like Olivia Moon, who talked all about the new words she learned in fourth grade.
"I learned a lot of words about climate, like tormenta," says Olivia, which means storm.
Thankfully, Olivia says there were no storms in fourth grade, just sunshine and rainbows.
"This was probably my favorite year!" she says. Olivia also mentioned that Maestra V was definitely one of her favorite teachers, too.
"She's so nice and fun, and she's also funny," Olivia explained.
And Olivia wasn't the only student giving Maestra V a vote of confidence; Isaiah Rubio also says fourth grade became one of his favorite years very quickly because of his relationship with Maestra V.
"She's very nice," says Isaiah. "She can help with everything. If you have a problem, she can help you solve it!"
Thankfully, Maestra V will be returning to Clarendon Elementary next year and will once again teach fourth grade (although her students have been trying to convince her to move up to fifth grade!)
