Some remember Pedro Gonzalez as a thoughtful, intelligent, and likable character. Others may have already dismissed the former Parker teacher from memory. Parker employs nearly 250 faculty and staff, with many new faces each year. For Gonzalez, one year was not enough to share the most interesting aspects of his life with the community.

Pedro Gonzalez taught ninth and tenth grade English courses at Parker during the 2017-2018 school year as a replacement during Upper School English Teacher Theresa Collins’ sabbatical. Gonzalez has been teaching high school-level English courses since 2013. Prior to working at Parker, Gonzalez taught at two charter schools for a combined total of four years. Currently, Gonzalez is designing curricula for the English as a Second Language (ESL) department at Instituto Health and Science Career Academy (IHSCA) in the Pilsen neighborhood. 

Gonzalez taught ninth grade Reading and Writing Across Genres and tenth grade World Lit: Odyssey of the Individual at Parker.

“He provided us the opportunity to explore our identities through activities such as creative visual projects, intense discussion and thought-provoking prompts, ” senior Alex Bennett, a student in Gonzalez’s world literature class, said. “He was very understanding when I was going through the year with a concussion and his patience allowed me to focus on my health as well as keep up with the class material.”

Although Gonzalez had hoped to continue his career at Parker, the return of Ms. Collins after her sabbatical left the department with no vacancies. Gonzalez then found himself teaching one year at Benito Juárez High School before landing at his current job. Moving around does not bother Gonzalez in the slightest.

“Finding my next thing to do, that’s always been my mentality,” Gonzalez said. “I’m always looking for my next opportunity to do something.”

Gonzalez’s next big opportunity is working as the head of the ESL department at IHSCA. Although this new position entails a myriad of duties, including teaching six classes across three high school grades, reviewing scheduling strategies, and brainstorming methods for involving Spanish-speaking parents in their children’s education, Gonzalez’s main task is to create curricula for students who speak English as a second language. 

“Pedro is modifying the curriculum of the other teachers in order to benefit the students that are learning a language on top of learning skills within literature and writing,” Christina Tillotson, a long-time friend of Gonzalez and former colleague of five years, said. “He’s got a lot on his plate. It’s definitely different for him.”

Gonzalez has dedicated himself to transitioning ESL students into “regular” English courses. Part of his administrative role as an ESL coordinator is issuing the state ACCESS test which breaks language down into listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are scored one to six across each section; scoring a six signifies that a student is ready to transition into a “regular” English course. Currently, Gonzalez is displeased with the rate at which students transition and  is looking to make big changes.

Gonzalez is working to strategically integrate teacher aids into ESL classrooms under a new program developed alongside other ESL teachers. These aids can be helpful in adjusting curricula on an individual basis in order to maintain rigor and progression.

“They brought me in to help build and continue to revamp the program. Right now that percentage, in terms of transitions, is too low,” Gonzalez said. “I want to see at least a good 40% of our ESL students, mainly my sophomores and juniors, transition out by the end of the school year.”

Low transition rates can be attributed to a lack of individual attention. Students of varying abilities and levels are clumped into classes together due to a lack of resources. Gonzalez has begun to tackle this problem by presenting the administration at IHSCA with a curriculum that would split classes into the two main areas of proficiency: language and literacy.

“The goal is to continue to have students transition out so that they’re challenged in a regular English class once they apply that foundation of language needs,” Gonzalez said.

While Gonzalez is passionate about the work he is doing in his current position, he admits that he still feels a sense of nostalgia when he thinks back to his time at Parker.

“I really enjoyed my experience at Parker,” Gonzalez said. “I do miss having those classes. I think they were really fun classes.”

A past student of Gonzalez and current senior Jerimiah Boyd recalls the laid back nature of the course and the openness of the teacher. Boyd still shivers when he thinks back to some of Gonzalez’s notorious ghost stories, often told at the start of class during his time at Parker. 

Boyd appreciated Gonzalez’s teaching style. “He definitely brought his personality and interests into the class,” Boyd said. “He let us bring in our own ideas, and I really liked how relaxed his class was.”

In addition to continuing his new job, Gonzalez also plans to go back to school and move into new positions within educational institutions. When asked what he is looking forward to in his career, Gonzalez described his desire to progress to the bigger roles of higher education.

“Having experienced many places already, I would like to be some person in leadership, whether it’s an assistant principal somewhere…a dean of student affairs or something like that,” Gonzalez said. At least to begin to experience that world. I’d like to advocate and push for equity in what students get to experience at school and what they get out of their academics.”

Along with his passion for educating, Gonzalez has also been busy traveling, writing, and managing real estate. Most notably, Gonzalez has been working on a novel since he was 17 years old.

“Ultimately, I do want to eventually publish something,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been writing for many years for fun on the side. That’s a big goal that I have… I’m getting closer.”

Gonzalez draws inspiration from his childhood and adolescence. He calls his book a “coming of age story” that addresses the struggles of growing up through his own lens as a Latino member of the LGBTQ community. The main struggle portrayed, as Gonzalez describes, is the main character’s attempts at “trying to figure themselves out.”

“The message overall is about eternal growing,” Gonzalez explained. “One is always changing, and we decide whether we want to change either for good or bad—whether we want to evolve into good or bad.”

Although high school students and young adults are his target audiences, Gonzalez wants the text to be accessible by anyone who has lived through those years.

“I want other adults to think back and remember how difficult it is to be a young adult. I also want adults to think back and realize the young adult population is still going through this today,” Gonzalez added.

Gonzalez has had publishing on his mind for the last 13 years and is only now starting to realize the true possibility of publishing his life’s work.

“Recently, I have talked to some people who have been able to publish their own pieces,” Gonzalez said with a smile. “They’ve recently told me they’re willing to help me out once I get something finalized. So I’m getting closer.”

Gonzalez has already decided on a title for his book. However, he has opted not to disclose it to anyone until the book is released. The idea came from his experiences riding the Orange Line from his house in Gage Park to Downtown. Out of the train window, Gonzalez would pass a parking structure with two words markered in black on the bricks.

“When I looked at that, and I read what it said, it just became so relevant to what I was going through at the moment,” Gonzalez said, “and over the years, I saw it fade away.”