When a fellow teacher warned her about a difficult incoming student, Jeannette Aguilera took a direct approach: She sat down with the child and established a rapport.
It worked so well that years after he left her class, Aguilera ’10 (B.S. child and adolescent development) attended the student’s band concert, saw him graduate high school and heard all about his first job.
“What he said to me is, ‘Thank you for believing in me when no one else did,’” said Aguilera, who is one of six people named 2026 Teachers of the Year by the Orange County Department of Education.
An educator for the past 11 years, Aguilera teaches third grade at Centralia Elementary School in Anaheim, where she sees her younger self in some of the students. Like them, she’s from a working-class background, and she was the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Aguilera was inspired by great teachers from her school days, including Miss Kitchen, who made her want to show up every day of fourth grade.
“She believed in me, and I think it just showed me that I had great qualities in myself that I didn’t really see,” Aguilera said.
When she enrolled at Cal State Fullerton, the combination of attentive professors, K-12 classroom observation and a close-knit cohort of fellow aspiring teachers confirmed Aguilera’s career choice.
Like Miss Kitchen, Aguilera’s professors recognized and nurtured a promising student.
“Jeannette’s commitment to finding the key to helping all children unlock their own potential was evident more than a decade ago” when she was working toward a teaching credential, said Andrea Guillaume, professor emeritus of elementary and bilingual education.
“I hope that the College of Education‘s support of Jeannette is an example of the environment we provide for each of our future and practicing teachers.”
Aguilera carried what she learned from supportive instructors into her own career and used it to help her students see the best in themselves.
Every morning her class gathers for the “community circle,” where they go over the day’s activities, recite an inspirational quote chosen by a student, and discuss a question that could be serious (when is a time that you showed empathy?) or silly (would you rather have a giraffe or an elephant for a pet?).
Aguilera’s students also learn foundational skills by leading the circle, recognizing classmates for their accomplishments and creating mission statements such as “Make good choices, even when no one else is watching.”
“I tell them, ‘If there is one thing I want you to do in my class, leave my class being a good person and being a good leader out there in this world,’” she said.
She started out teaching sixth grade, but the pandemic’s impacts on education and a suggestion from a mentor recently led Aguilera to switch to third grade. That decision — and receiving Teacher of the Year accolades — rekindled Aguilera’s passion for her profession.
“If I didn’t know this was my chosen career and what I was meant to be, I really do now,” she said. “And I just can’t wait to keep going.”