Tracy Ruiz with her laminated copy of To Kill a Mockingbird
1) Tracy always wanted to be a teacher. She wanted to make connections with students like her teachers did with her. She was the first one in the family to attend a 4 year university and felt she had a responsibility to give back to her family, teachers and community.
2) Watching students grow up right in front of her is what she enjoys most about teaching. Her students’ transformation is her favorite part of teaching.
3) Tracy has been teaching for 21 years.
4) In her spare time, Tracy enjoys watching the SF Giants play. She is a huge fan. She claims she is “a better person during baseball season”…which is hard to believe since she’s an awesome person and teacher year round.
5) A couple of fun facts about Tracy – in college, she bungee jumped off a bridge (illegally) between Bakersfield and Santa Maria. She was also the Giants Teacher of the Year in 2014 and was invited to attend the Homerun Derby, the All Star game and stand on the field during the National Anthem.
6) What does being a member of VTA mean to Tracy- “I am member of a lot of different teams. My favorite team is VTA because we’re all working toward a common goal.”
