Ivonne Huang, South Hills Middle

“Every other Chinese immersion teacher my children have had in middle school has eventually given up to some extent because of the discipline issues many students bring as they get older and don’t want to be in the immersion program any longer. Ms Huang is not only an amazing teacher that inspires learning and a love of the language, but she never gives up. She is currently trying to get my son’s grade caught up to where they need to be in order to pass the AP test this spring. Previous teachers had given up on getting through all of the material in previous years and as a result our students are very behind in their knowledge. My son wanted to quit after 7th grade saying the class was a waste of time, but now even though Chinese is his hardest class of the day it is also his favorite. Ms. Huang pushes her students to succeed, but she also makes success possible. Most important for these middle schoolers is the fact that they know she truly cares about them and their ability to learn and succeed. The district offers extra AP help on Saturdays but the spots are limited and most students couldn’t get in. Ms Huang as a result has given up her prep period in order for students to sign up and get extra help with her. I don’t know when she sleeps because it isn’t unusual to receive emails from her in the middle of the night…her salary should be double whatever it is, not only for the extra time she puts in, but also for her amazing natural ability to teach. She is also one of those teachers that will show up to a student’s personal activities when she knows about them…I’ve seen her at missionary farewells even though she isn’t a member of the LDS faith, and she attended one of my daughter’s dance recitals when she was lucky enough to have Ms Huang during elementary school. If only we could convince her to move up to the high school next year!”

-Sarah Rosenkrantz