Mrs. Kim Ortiz is a new ELD and Basic English teacher at Los Banos. Ortiz likes teaching, but doesn’t like all the work outside of class, which consists of all the grading and planning.

Ortiz says that LBHS helped her start as a brand new teacher. She says, “LBHS really supports new teachers to start strong.”  Ortiz claims that teachers and staff constantly ask if she needs help in any way and to just ask if she ever does.

As an ELD teacher, Ortiz teaches many migrant students that do not know the English language well. Her goal is to have all her students be able to hold a conversation with any person for at least two minutes and be understood. It is hard at times because she teaches every grade level with many different learning levels.

Ortiz is a mother as well as a teacher. She has five children, three in college and two in high school. The two in high school do go to LBHS and help her at times. She says the hardest part of a beginning teacher is all the time that takes you away from your family time. She often works late hours to finish paperwork and doesn’t have any spare time, but it will get better when she is used to the work she says.  She hopes to have a successful year.