AHS Teacher Profile: Mrs. Mayorga

Passion.  If you engage in a conversation with Mrs. Mayorga about education, you will discover she possesses exceptional passion for teaching!   She has been teaching high school English for 13 years, all at Arcadia.  Currently, she teaches AP Language and AP Literature. Her educational background includes:

• BA English-  University of Wisconsin Green Bay
• Masters in Humanities-  ASU
• Masters of Education degree- ASU
• ESL Certification-  ASU
• Reading Specialist
• National Board Certified-  2012

 
For the last six years, Mrs. Mayorga has served as the English Department Chair.  She is honored to have the opportunity to be a middleman, sharing classroom teachers’ insights with decision makers at district-level discussions and likewise, bringing accurate and topical information back to her co-workers. 
 
In 2014, Mrs. Mayorga was recognized by the Scottsdale Charros.  She was selected as a High School Outstanding Teacher of the Year and she was also awarded a Master’s in Education Fellowship!
 
Mrs. Mayorga is very committed to Arcadia and its students.  She has served on the Site Improvement Team for 12 years, and for the past six years, she has been an advisor for Arcadia’s National Honor Society.  She describes NHS as an outstanding group of students who do amazing things for the Arcadia community.  NHS is driven by students who make a wonderful difference in other people’s lives.
 
Mrs. Mayorga’s large German family grew up on a 250 acre farm in Caledonia, Minnesota.  As kids, she and her five siblings would run out and play in the fields and the woods all day long... until her parents would call them in for meals.  That was her playground! 
 
HOBBIES OR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO WHEN NOT TEACHING
Travel! Our family will purposefully take road trips which allow spontaneity- like when we figured out we were on the Forest Gump Road in Utah and we jumped out to take pictures. J
 
WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD:
Being mom of three great kids (my daughter is a senior at Arcadia and I have two children at Hopi).  I’m also proud to be a public school teacher- I feel public school teachers are held to a higher standard.  I think we are accomplishing great things despite our challenges.
 
A RANDOM FACT ABOUT MRS. MAYORGA:
The first time I went to France, I accidentally ended up at François Mitterrand’s funeral.  I was photographed at the funeral by their press and ended up in France’s version of USA Today.  *My 15 seconds of fame. 
 
Submitted by Amanda McCauley Spring 2017

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