When prospective families tour Escuela de Guadalupe, one question comes up again and again: Do your teachers stay? It’s an important question. For many parents, teacher retention is a window into school culture. Do teachers feel supported? Is the school mission more than words on a wall?
At Escuela, the answer speaks for itself.
More than half of the instructional staff has been at Escuela for over a decade. Several have taught here for nearly 20 years, which signals a very low rate of teacher turnover to prospective parents.
For Sandra Garcia, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, this longevity is personal. “My son is now a junior in college,” she shares. “And so many of his teachers from elementary and middle school are still here today. That kind of teacher retention is rare.”
It’s also deeply felt by the families.
“Our parents know we want their children to succeed,” says third-grade teacher Sandra Reese, now in her 19th year at Escuela. “They feel it. They believe it. And that trust—their trust—is what keeps me coming back.”
Sandra Reese: A Community That Carried Her
Sandra Reese began teaching at Escuela de Guadalupe in 2000, just one year after the school opened its doors. But two years later, her life changed profoundly. In 2002, her son Sebastian was born with a congenital heart condition and placed in the NICU.
One moment from that time still takes her breath away. Fr. Tom Prag, Jesuit priest and co-founder of Escuela, arrived at the NICU to baptize Sebastian. Up until that moment, Sebastian had never opened his eyes.
“And then, when Fr. Tom arrived,” Sandra says, “Sebastian opened them. It felt like he was waiting.”
Sandra’s plans to continue teaching were suddenly overwhelmed by the round-the-clock care Sebastian required.
“I wasn’t sleeping. He needed to be fed every hour through a machine,” she recalls.
So, she had to leave Escuela to care for Sebastian full-time, but Sandra always knew she wanted him to attend the school that had shaped her own early years as a teacher. When she returned five years later to enroll Sebastian in kindergarten, the staff remembered her—and offered her a job on the spot.
“It felt like I was meant to be here,” says Sandra.
Over the years, Sandra has served as a literacy tutor, graduate support director, middle school religion and life skills teacher, and now, third-grade teacher. Along the way, she raised two children as a single mom, supported her own mother through cancer treatment, and earned her degree from Regis University. Escuela, she says, has never just been a workplace.
“They supported me through everything—Sebastian’s surgeries, my schooling, my family’s hard times. This is more than a school. It’s my extended family.”
Her commitment to Escuela is deeply felt by the families she serves.
“I believe our parents genuinely feel that we want their kids to succeed,” she says. “They invite us to quinceañeras, graduations, weddings—and sometimes, they ask us to attend funerals. That’s how close we become.”
Asked why she thinks teacher retention is so high at Escuela, Sandra doesn’t hesitate. “You just keep expanding your family. These kids become part of you. You want them to grow, to thrive, to become the kind of person who brings light to their family and their community. That’s what keeps me here.”
Cristina Guerrero: Rooted in Two Worlds
Cristina Guerrero always knew she wanted to teach. “Since I was a kid, I’d play school with my dolls and stuffed animals,” she laughs. “Even then, I knew this is what I was meant to do.”
Originally from Mexico, Cristina came to the United States when she was eight years old. It was a jarring experience—one that shaped her understanding of education and language forever.
“I was placed in an English-only classroom, and it was rough,” she remembers. “I didn’t understand what was going on. I felt lost.”
That experience is part of what fuels her passion today as one of Escuela’s kindergarten teachers. She joined the school 11 years ago as a tutor, working with students who needed extra support. Over time, she became a full-time kindergarten teacher—a role she’s now held for nine years.
“I stay because I believe in what we’re doing here,” she says. “Being able to teach a child in their native language—that gives them confidence. It gives them respect. It says, ‘You belong here.’”
Cristina sees Escuela as more than a school—it’s a bridge between cultures, a place where tradition and academic excellence go hand in hand.
“In many ways, this school reminds me of Mexico—the celebrations, the closeness, the sense of community. And I want my son to experience that too.”
Her son, now in second grade at Escuela, is growing up bilingual and bicultural—just like the students she teaches every day. “I know this community. I know these families. I feel deeply connected.”
Sharon Foster: A Shared Mission = Teacher Retention
Sharon Foster has worked at Escuela for 17 years and she has worn myriad hats: Title I tutor, literacy coach, middle school math teacher, media specialist, first and second grade teacher—and now, once again, Title I tutor.
Over this time, she has gotten married and had a daughter, Ruby, who is now an Escuela first grader.
Sharon has seen the school evolve, but one thing has remained constant: the unwavering commitment to its mission.
“There’s a kind of freedom here that’s rare,” she says. “Everyone at Escuela has truly signed onto the mission. We’re not following orders from a big bureaucracy—we’re asking ourselves, every day, What’s best for this child?”
That flexibility, Sharon says, is what allows teachers to meet each student where they are. “We get to adjust our efforts to the individual child, not to some rigid system. If a student needs a different approach, we have the space and the support to try it.”
For Sharon, that mission alignment creates a culture that enhances teacher retention. “Everyone here is pulling in the same direction—for the good of the kids.”
Maribel Polo: Teaching with Heart in Her First Language
For Maribel Polo, teaching isn’t just a profession—it’s a calling. Originally from Peru, Maribel came to the United States 18 years ago and discovered Escuela when she was seeking a bilingual school for her own children. She enrolled them, and then three years later, she accepted a teaching job at Escuela. She has been here ever since, teaching first and second grade.
“Those are the ages I really love,” she says. “I’ve always taught reading, writing, math, and science—always in Spanish.”
Before coming to the United States, Maribel taught for many years at a Catholic school in Peru, and later with Denver Public Schools. But it was at Escuela that she found a place where her language, culture, and faith were not just accepted—but essential.
“I’ve stayed here because I feel that, as a teacher, I can really help my Latino community,” she shares. “And Escuela feels like my second family. We know each other. We support each other.”
For Maribel, it’s about more than collegiality. It’s about mission.
“At Escuela, there is real care and interest in making sure that students have the tools they need for the future. That’s what keeps me here.”
More Yearbook Photos of Staff Who Have Been at Escuela For More Than a Decade
