Fourth Grade   Belinda Davila Fourth Grade Mrs. B. Davila is currently teaching fourth grade at Hidalgo Elementary School. She has been with the Hidalgo School District for twenty-six years. She was born and raised in McAllen, Texas. Her parents taught her the importance of hard work, respect, and education. As a young girl, she loved school, music, and riding her bike with her best friend Aurora. She attended Thigpen, Zavala, Travis, and Lincoln Jr. High School. Mrs. B. Davila graduated from McAllen High School. She obtained her college education at Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas. She studied hard and worked long hours. She graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Education. She married her husband, Juan Eduardo. They are blessed with two beautiful children. Her husband and her two children are her pride and joy. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the movies, to the beach, shopping, eating out and attending church on Sundays with her family. She loves plants, to cook, exercise, and listen to music and enjoys walking her dog Jack. As an educator, Mrs. Davila expects her students to work hard. She wants for all of her students to succeed and to do well in all content subjects. It’s her desire to meet every student potential. She has great expectations for all of her students. She wants to challenge herself continuously and to make a difference in her students’ lives. Jaime Garza Fourth Grade Mr. Jaime Garza is a fourth grade teacher at Hidalgo Elementary. He lives in the City of Hidalgo with his lovely wife Blanca and his beautiful daughter, Paulina, who is his pride and joy. He’s crazy about both of them. He enjoys spending time with them when he’s not working. Mr. Garza enjoys watching movies. He also enjoys reading history books and watching the History Channel. Mr. Garza likes to share his experiences with his students to their delight. Jaime Garza has been teaching 4th grade at Hidalgo Elementary for a rewarding seven years. He came to school here as a child and has a myriad of wonderful memories of his childhood years. Mr. Garza has seen students grow and learn something new every day. He takes great pride in being part of Hidalgo ISD, where everyone is friendly, dedicated, professional, and always looking for what’s best for the students. Hidalgo Elementary is his second home, and the staff is like his family because they are always willing to lend a helping hand. His supervisors are very supportive, and believe in his expertise as a teacher. Working with students gives him the greatest satisfaction. He loves watching a smile on their face as they learn. Working at Hidalgo Elementary is pleasant to him even though it’s very demanding and challenging. The working environment and the camaraderie there lift his ego daily. He wouldn’t trade his job for anything else in the world knowing that his students and ex-students have interesting goals and high standards for their futures. Jaime Garza expects the best for his students for a safe and successful future. Leonor De La Garza Fourth Grade Number eight out of ten brothers and sisters, Leonor Hilda Sanchez was born into a home where God and education are very important. At the age of four her family moved from Matamoros, Tamaulipas to Brownsville, Texas where she was raised. She attended public schools there and graduated in the top ten percent of her class from Gladys Porter High School on May 1988 and continued her education at the University of Texas at Brownsville where she received her Bachelor’s in Arts in the fall of 1991. Mrs. De La Garza started teaching right after graduating in the spring of 1992. Her first teaching job was at her old elementary school, J.T. Canales Elementary. There, she taught third grade for four years. After marrying Emilio Azael De La Garza on March of 1995, the couple moved to El Paso, Texas where Mrs. De La Garza taught in the Ysleta School District. She taught third grade for five years at Pasodale Elementary. On December 1999 the couple moved to San Antonio, Texas where she worked for the North East District. In the spring of 2000 she substituted fifth grade permanently for the semester at Olmos Elementary. Mrs. De La Garza was offered a teaching position there and at the Jr. High, but that year the couple moved to McAllen, Texas to be closer to her family. On August 2000, Mrs. De La Garza started teaching third grade at Hidalgo Elementary. Mrs. De la Garza has taught at Hidalgo Elementary for seven years. She has taught third and second grade. She was selected 2005-2006 campus and district teacher of the year. During her years at Hidalgo Elementary, Mrs. De La Garza has been blessed in many ways- the greatest of which was the birth of her adopted son Jonathan Azael and two years later her son Samuel Guillermo. Now mother of two, Mrs. De La Garza is on her eighth year with the district and is teaching fourth grade. After almost fifteen years of teaching, high expectations are part of Mrs. De La Garza’s philosophy of education; all children can learn. A goal, she says, that can be achieved by providing the best learning environment to every student regardless of their academic ability. She says that such environment should be safe, well organized and conducive to learning where the student will not have barriers nor limits to succeed. She adds that depending on the student's needs, he or she will be provided with this opportunity through special programs such as Dual Language, Special Education, Tutoring, and Peer Tutoring. This opportunity can also be provided through school or classroom activities. Finally, Mrs. De La Garza believes that as an educator she plays a tremendous role in giving every student the opportunity to succeed. That role is to guide children to grow from his or her individual strengths thus producing our future leaders. Elisa Lopez, 4th Grade Teacher