Selma High welcomes new staff member Patricia Polanco with open arms. With her arrival, a new class has made its name known around campus: Careers with Children. Even though this is Mrs. Polanco’s first time teaching here in Selma, it isn’t her first time in a teaching setting.
By the time she graduated from Fresno Pacific with her degree in Child Development, she had fulfilled her passion for working with children as an associate teacher in a state-funded preschool. Afterward, She worked her way up to a site supervisor. Mrs. Polanco worked at a school in Reedley teaching the Careers with Children pathway before the opportunity to teach here at Selma High opened its door.
“It was the perfect balance [between] still being with the preschoolers but helping to get the next generation of teachers ready and excited to be with kids,” Polanco explains.
Polanco describes her experience here as a good one.
“Everyone has been extremely nice, the kids have been great, the staff is great, I’m very happy here so far,” expressed Mrs. Polanco.
Something Mrs. Polanco is excited about the year, with getting to know everyone, building the Careers with Children pathway, and getting it up there to the level of CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant).
“[I want] to establish myself here,” Mrs. Polanco says.
Although the program is different here than it is in Reedley, Mrs. Polanco is still excited about it. Selma High doesn’t have an established preschool for students to go into as Reedley does. While this puts Selma High back, Polanco gets to establish her own preschool and her own way of doing things.
“It was always something I wanted to do. So I get to pick the curriculum and pick how we teach, pick everything we do, versus teaching what someone else has picked,” Polanco shares.
Outside of her teaching life, Mrs. Polanco has two daughters and is happily married to her husband. She also enjoys indulging in reading.
“If it sparks my interest, I’ll read it,” said Mrs. Polanco.
She is also a huge lover of true crime documentaries. “We like to go to Disneyland a lot. That’s our place to separate our teacher selves and focus on our girls,” Polanco adds.
