The Paw Print

By Alice Argence, Staff Writer

This year, Jennifer Rodriguez has been newly welcomed into our World Language Department. Rodriguez has already begun to teach her students important lessons about culture, geography, and the unique aspects of the Spanish language. She teaches Spanish II, Spanish III, and AP Spanish Literature.

Rodriguez previously taught on the campus of Little Village Lawndale High School. She came to Payton to challenge herself by working with students who are independent, driven, and motivated to learn. She wants to teach students at a school where she does not “need to hold their hand for everything,” she said.

Rodriguez first got into teaching because of her own high school experience. Looking back, she says although she faced struggles as a high schooler, she enjoyed high school because of the structure it gave her in life. She described her high school as very different demographically from Payton. Her teachers would tell Latino students that they weren’t going to do much after high school, which motivated her to prove teachers wrong that “she could be in the same shoes that they are in.” Rodriguez explained that “by breaking the cycle you can break the stereotype.”

Outside the classroom, Rodriguez enjoys keeping busy with pilates, learning Greek, and attempting to do house projects all by herself! Surprisingly, she has never seen a Marvel movie before! Music runs in her family: her father was a former mariachi musician, and she plays the clarinet, something she says is very important to who she is as a person.
Her advice for the student body? “Don’t sell yourself short, and push through despite already having made it to Payton.”

We’re so excited to welcome Ms. Rodriguez to the Payton community as a new Spanish teacher!