Alicia Garza says she became a pre-k teacher "by chance." She had worked before as a reading and art teacher and then went to school to pursue a degree in Spanish with the idea of working with ESL children. It was toward the end of her schooling, a year ago, that she was offered a job teaching pre-k. "I knew it would be a challenge," she says, "I always wanted to teach but never thought about pre-k. I didn't have much experience with very little kids, didn't know them, really, but I fell completely in love with it."

Today, Ms. Garza teaches at Amigos por Vida (Friends for Life), a public charter school in Houston, which offers a dual-language program for pre-k through fifth grade. Amigos por Vida's full-day pre-k program includes a first year for three year olds with each day divided into 80 percent Spanish and 20 percent English and a second year at 50/50 for four to five year olds. Ms. Garza teaches the half-day, English portion of the second year.

Most of Ms. Garza's students arrive knowing little or no English, and she says at first, she struggled to communicate without speaking Spanish. However she found that there are many, sometimes unexpected ways to make connections. She mentions one child who for several months absolutely would not speak. Then, the class had a unit about snails, and the girl came to life. "She was challenging all year," says Ms. Garza. "And then the snails, she focused on them. She loved them, and I could talk with her about them. It was very exciting."

While her program is steeped in language-proficiency goals, Ms. Garza feels the most important lesson for the children is to love school and learning. Kindergarten, she says, is rigorous with a greater focus on academics. Amigos por Vida is a "Reading First" school for grades K-5; so those years are very structured. Pre-k is the year when children can develop an enthusiasm for school that will help them succeed later.

To begin that process, Ms. Garza spent this summer meeting with the children and families who will be in her class next year. "The home visits have been great!" She declares. "The transformations, even over a one hour visit, are amazing. Kids who won't even look at me when I arrive are taking me to see their rooms by the end. And the parents are so receptive and responsive, whatever I suggest, they embrace it." She sees these visits as the beginning of a truly collaborative educational effort.

Ms. Garza says she has learned a great deal about herself through teaching. "I'm a sort of controlling person," she admits. "I've learned I need to let things go, let go of my own expectations and be flexible." She also says she's a naturally reflective person, which serves her well. "You need to reflect honestly and often, on what worked, what didn't, what could be better or different."

Regarding things that might be better or different, curriculum development has become an important focus for Ms. Garza. Amigos por Vida employs two primary curricular models, but Ms. Garza feels they are not very appropriate to the age or dual-language circumstances of her students. In an effort to address these deficiencies, this summer she and a colleague worked on an ESL project, exploring and detailing the levels of language development for children three to five years old. "The existing resources," she notes, "weren't very helpful; so we decided to research the issues ourselves. It was really interesting."

In fact, Ms. Garza has become so engaged with the issues surrounding language and young children that she now hopes to pursue a master's degree in early childhood second-language learning. She adds, "I love being a language teacher."