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Israel Martinez, The American Dream School’s 7th grade Spanish teacher, was the first member of his family to graduate high school. Israel was born in a rural area of Guerrero, Mexico, and grew up sleeping on the floor of the tiny house he shared with his parents and five siblings. When he was 11, Martinez’s father went to the U.S. and worked in construction, sending back enough money for the family to build its own house.
When Martinez was 15, his father returned and sent him to live with his older brother in New Rochelle. Israel spent three years cooking and cleaning in a bakery, sending most of his earnings to his family before finally enrolling, at age 18, in 10th grade of the local public school. Siblings came to the U.S. and worked so Israel could study and, at age 21, he graduated high school. He worked again at the bakery for two years to earn enough money to enroll in community college and eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree with a double-major in Exercise and Sports and Spanish Secondary Education. He has worked at The American Dream School ever since.
“Every year, I give a summary of who I am and where I come from, to try to inspire my students,” says Martinez, who this May will complete a Master’s degree in Spanish Literature. “I tell them: You have everything so you can do anything. I didn’t have that much but I feel I did something. If you want to accomplish something, you just need to work for it.”
“Someone asked me if I have kids and I said, ‘Yes, I have 90 kids.’ I feel that way.” Martinez says The American Dream School, “feels like a home for students and parents because they see we learn their culture, their language and we really care for them.”
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