Miles Avenue TIIP Team

Miles Avenue Team Members at Annual TIIP Meeting in Spring 2011

Maria Alcaraz

Maria received her Bachelor's degree from Occidental College in English and Comparative Literary Studies and her teaching credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Maria continued her education at California State University, Los Angeles and received her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction. She has been teaching for 9 years at Miles Avenue, which is her alma mater from the mid to late 80's. She has taught various grade levels spanning from kindergarten to fourth grade, spending the majority of her career as a first grade teacher. Maria enjoys teaching writing to first graders because they are always so eager to apply their new learning to their own writing. In her spare time, Maria writes her own stories for both adult and children audiences, hoping to create a collection of short stories for future publishing. Maria became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2011. 

Cecy Equihua

Cecy has been working at Miles Avenue Elementary for 9 years in the following capacity: For 6 years, she taught in the following grade levels: Kindergarten, Third, Fourth and Fifth. For 3 years, she served as a writing coach providing professional development and mentoring teachers in a grade level Professional Learning Community. She enjoys teaching writing and is interested in becoming a children's author someday. Cecy is currently pursuing National Board Certification.

Claudia Martinez

Claudia received her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from California State Dominguez-Hills. She obtained her Masters in Cross-Cultural Education from National University. She has been a teacher at Miles for over 9 years with 2 years of experience in fourth grade, 2 years in second grade, and 5 years in first grade. Claudia became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2011.

Hang Nguyen

Shortly after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles with double majors in Anthropology and Art History, Hang spent two years in Japan as an assistant language teacher in the JET Program. She received her Masters Degree at California State University, Dominguez Hills. She has been at Miles for over 12 years, teaching 2nd through 5th grade, and currently serves as the Title I Coordinator. Hang became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2011. 

Teresa Rivas

Teresa is a graduate from California State University, Long Beach. She majored in Liberal Studies, minored in Spanish, and holds a Bilingual California Clear Multiple Subject K-8 Credential. Miles Elementary is her childhood school where she began her education career as a teacher assistant and then eventually as a teacher. Teresa has 8 years of teaching experience in K-5 primary urban classrooms in Los Angeles Unified School District. She has taught in both English and Bilingual settings in fourth grade, kindergarten, and is currently teaching first grade. She has also served as a Math Coach, leading professional development and mentoring teachers. Her new learning from the Columbia University Lucy Calkins Reading and Writing Project has enabled her to implement best practices within her classroom and to become a mentor to her colleagues. Teresa is currently pursuing National Board Certification.