Gladys’s Story

Congratulations to Gladys Krause!  She has been hired at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples as a Spanish teacher! This is Gladys’s story of the road it took to get her to this amazing accomplishment.

I came to the United States in 2003, stayed for half a year and then went back to my country, Peru. The following year, I brought my daughter and we both established in this country. I got married and then became a permanent resident. During those years, I have been studying the language of the land while I raised my 2 daughters. Even though I learned English in my home country, it was hard to understand and speak in English. The Literacy Council was my school for a good time since 2006.  After being an advanced student with tutor Walter, I became a tutor myself. I used to have a full class of 17 or 20 students, the majority of them from different parts of Central and South America. I also gave English lessons on Saturdays to a group of landscapers who needed to use English in their labor days.

I also helped with the Moms & Tots® program, and i was involved in writing for the newsletter and press releases. I enjoyed this so much because I used to be a journalist for many years in my country. I even got experience as a freelance journalist and translator with local newspapers in this part of Florida. I also volunteered to speak at some “Meet and Greets” for the Literacy Council’s guests.

In October 2007, I got a new job as a teacher assistant at Bonita Elementary School, where my 2 daughters were attending. It has been a blessing being with my daughters, who are now almost teenagers, and at the same time working with ESOL students to help them with their academics, improving their reading and math skills.

Since 2010, I have been a tutor for after school programs at Bonita Elementary and Bonita Middle School. All the experience that I gained through these years prepared me to be immersed in the Education field. At present, I just got a teaching position at St. John Neumann Catholic High School. It will be a new challenge that I accept and feel content for, because I will be teaching my native language, Spanish.