Fresh Ideas and New Beginnings: A Briarwood Student's Gratitude for a New Teacher

Briarwood teachers are experts in teaching students who have learning differences. This year, a new teacher arrived with fresh ideas and unique beginnings to our school. Kaitlyn Calvez is a new face with expert skills to help Briarwood students. At first, Ms. Calvez said that she was nervous in a new situation that included classroom and virtual learning. As days passed, she became more comfortable, getting to know her students and finding out their different strengths and personalities. She reports “loving the environment around the school.” She teaches 10th grade geometry and cultivates a fun learning environment. She wants students to see that math is all around us.

Ms. Calvez was born and raised in Houston and had been teaching in Austin in an even smaller school that also specializes in teaching students with learning differences. After 4 years there, she decided to come back home to Houston. A friend and former teacher of hers told her about Briarwood because he knew how similar it was to her previous job. 

Ms. Calvez is humble and patient, the very qualities that any good teacher possesses. She understands that different students have different strengths. Some students may be strong in math, some not so much, but Ms. Calvez tries to put herself in their shoes and to understand the stress her students might feel. “It is not about getting the right answer,” she says, “it’s about how to get the right answer, the behind the scene process. It’s about understanding and actually learning instead of memorizing the answer.”

Ms. Calvez relates the math process to life, “because in life there are shortcuts, but sometimes those shortcuts only mean you are cheating yourself. 

Ms. Calvez finds joy and purpose helping students truly understand and learn math. She loves seeing the change in our faces as we learn.