We are in complete awe of the teachers who were nominated in Alamo City’s Amazing Teacher contest! We asked our readers to nominate teachers who have made an impact in their and their children’s lives. With over 7,000 teachers in one San Antonio school district alone, there are thousands of wonderful educators in the San Antonio community, and we are honored to be featuring some of them today.

We will be introducing you to our finalists through a series of posts throughout the day. We want our readers to help us determine who will receive the title of Alamo City’s Amazing Teacher!

Voting will open Monday, May 4 and continue through Thursday, May 7 at noon. To cast your vote, simply scroll down to the bottom of this post. Our winner will be announced on Friday, May 8.

Without further ado and in alphabetical order (because teachers love order, right?), here is our final group of Amazing Teachers!

Bob Schwenker

Northside ISD, Locke Hill Elementary; 5th Grade

Nominated by Maria Moore

Bob Schwenker is one of the most patient, kind-hearted, and nurturing men you will ever meet. He has spent a lifetime in education and has taught for over 35 years in grades 4th–6th (and even a year in Kinder) in both St. Louis and San Antonio. He loves kids and helping them succeed. It is a rarity to see a male in the elementary schools teaching, challenging, and mentoring young children. It takes someone special.

A native from Schenectady, New York, and a long-time Midwesterner, Mr. Schwenker has developed quite a knowledge and pride for Texas history and its people after living here for the past 15 years. He has been seen staying late or coming in early to work with students, personally home-tutoring a student in his class who developed cancer, coaching chess club, supporting the bike rodeo and bike safety, volunteering for the dunking booth at the school carnival, goofing around with students and teachers, and has even dressed up as Santa during the holidays! His classroom may not be decked out in the cutesy décor and bulletin boards, but his interaction with the students is what matters. For some, this is the only male figure in their life whom they have to look up to. Just recently, he was honored by a student as the person who “made the biggest difference in his life” and that student is now graduating Summa Cum Laude at Clark High School.

In addition to his time in the classroom, he also spends evenings and weekends tutoring a variety of demographics within San Antonio specifically for ICEE (private school entrance) exams and the SAT/ACT. He does this one-on-one or through small classes that meet and often has a waiting list of students. Because of his time and study, students have increased their scores and been able to enroll in schools of their choice.

While he has been a great influence in the classroom, his most important role was always being my dad. He and my mom raised three children who have gone on to complete college and start careers and lives of their own. He has always worked hard to encourage and challenge us in our lives, just as he does for those in the classroom.

He could’ve done a lot of other things and made a lot more money–but he chose to do something that mattered: to influence in the life of a child.[hr]

Ashley Smith

North East ISD, Ridgeview Elementary; Kindergarten

Nominated by Joseph Anguiano and Savannah Ruhlman

My fiancé is an amazing teacher. Coming from the other perspective of Ms. Smith as a professional, I see all the hard work and dedication she puts into her job every day. She never leaves school according to normal “teacher hours.” She is always working behind the scenes to create the most engaging lessons that will make learning fun for her students. She loves her Kindergarten class so much and truly cares about each one as if he or she were her own child. She makes herself available to parents and is always doing her very best to provide a great learning experience for all her kids. She truly deserves to be recognized for all her love and dedication to her classroom and students.

She is very positive and has a positive outlook on the behavior of her students. She is also very personable with us as parents and communicates with us on a personal level.[hr]

David Villalobos

Edgewood ISD, Memorial High School; 9th Grade Algebra

Nominated by Veronica Casiano

David truly is a great teacher. He literally spends hours a day preparing lessons and activities for students. Even though David is a full-time graduate student (going for his second master’s degree), he still stays a minimum of two hours after school for tutoring and mentoring his students. This year has been particularly rough for David in his personal life. He took a week off of work due to an unexpected death in his family. Although his concern was with his family, he was constantly thinking about his students and how taking time off was affecting them. Also, David graduated from the high school where now he teaches. He is a great example to the students of how you can succeed coming from the area of town we grew up in. Too many times students hear that college is not necessary and not important. David lets them see that you can gain so much in life with college and still come back and give to your community. I work in the same district as David but at a different high school. I can truly say that many teachers at both schools have a great deal of admiration and respect for David for how committed he is to his work and students. If anyone is fitting of any sort of recognition it truly is David Villalobos![hr]

Mary Wright

Alamo Heights ISD, Howard Early Childhood Center; Kindergarten

Nominated by Lisa Waller

Earlier this year I had a conversation about schools with a close friend. We talked about our children’s needs, best interests, teachers, academics—the list goes on. All of those important things accounted for, however, my friend shared, “At the end of the day, I want my child to feel loved.” Yes, she had nailed it! Isn’t that what we all want as parents? A school and classroom environment for our children where they feel loved and nurtured while they’re learning? This was exactly what my husband and I wanted for our son, Liam. Liam is our timid first-born, strong-willed but soft-spoken, always learning, mind-churning, insanely intelligent boy. The decision to send him to public school was not an easy one for us and one that we prayed about for a long time.

Our prayers were answered the day we found out who Liam’s teacher was going to be at Howard. When we shared her name with friends in the community, their immediate response was, “Oh, you are so lucky! Mary is wonderful! She prays for her students. She loves what she does.” We quickly learned she had been teaching for about 26 years. What were the odds? We needed our son to be placed in a classroom where the teacher was just as committed to his learning as we were, and here it seemed we were about to experience just that.

Almost a school year later, Mrs. Wright has not disappointed. While guiding and growing the class collectively, she still focuses on the needs of individual students—an art that seems to be lost nowadays. She gathers outside resources to enhance the learning of students in her room that need an added challenge, something for which our family has been extremely grateful. From bringing in educational magazines she knows Liam will love, to collecting books from the elementary school to challenge experienced readers in the class, Mary manages to encourage learning at every level.

Recently Mrs. Wright encouraged her students to participate in the Learning Showcase at Alamo Heights High School. One of the only Kindergarten classes to make an appearance at the showcase, their booth shined with colorful posters, hands-on activities, and data the students had collected to show off their knowledge on topics of their choice. Watching a group of five- and six year-olds fellowship together through learning is a special and unique experience.

And that is exactly what Liam’s first year at public school has been for us: a unique experience in the best way possible. Bottom line: when your child steps onto the bus at 7:30 A.M. and doesn’t hop off the bus until 2:30 P.M., your main concern is that someone will love and care for your child in your stead. Because you aren’t there, you hope that your child has nothing but the best of the best to teach them, mold them, and shape them into someone who thrives.

Liam is thriving. In fact, he is excelling. He’s growing. When he hops off the bust at 2:30 P.M. the first thing he wants to do is recount his day for me, what he learned, what he read. “Today, we learned about the lifecycle of a butterfly!” he exclaims. Today, he was loved. And we have Mary Wright to thank for that.[hr]

Glen Yotter

North East ISD, Northwood Elementary School; 1st Grade

Nominated by Yvette Reyna

As parents you never know what to expect at “Meet the Teacher Night” a few days before the first day of school. On this night, it was the first time we met Mr. Glen Yotter, our son’s first grade teacher. As we stopped to chat with Mr. Yotter, we shared with him that our son is not always focused, often gets out of his seat, and even has an “unusual” but real fear of animals. About a month later, our son started to change.

Region 20 (a school district support center) brought in some non-poisonous snakes and spiders to support Mr. Yotter’s living science program. On a Tuesday afternoon, I received a photo on my cell phone from Mr. Yotter and it was a picture of my son, Deveraux, holding a snake. A few days later I received another photo of a tarantula sitting on Deveraux’s head, and he had the biggest smile on his face. Our son became interested in reading about reptiles when they visited their school library. Mr. Yotter helped build my son’s confidence around animals and even let him read a book to his entire class. Deveraux’s teacher motivated our child to learn, listen, and focus in a classroom setting. My son no longer gets out of his seat and wanders around class because Mr. Yotter introduced “Brain Breaks” (a choreographed dance or yoga time, set to music allowing kids to stretch and get out of their seats for a few, fun minutes) as a reward for the class when they exhibit good behavior and complete their lessons.

There have been countless times when we have been impressed by Mr. Yotter. One day Deveraux lost a tooth at school, and as the students were running in excitement to see the tooth, the tooth fell out of Deveraux’s hand and got lost somewhere in the classroom. Deveraux was devastated. He was really looking forward to a visit from the tooth fairy. Mr. Yotter sat down and wrote a note to the tooth fairy explaining what happened, so Deveraux could leave the note under his pillow. My husband and I shared with Mr. Yotter that our son struggles with making healthy eating choices, so one day when Deveraux was headed to the treasure chest for a prize at the end of the week, his teacher said, “Deveraux, this week you’ve got the best prize—not stickers or pencils, you’re getting a banana!” This little moment made our guy feel extra special and encouraged him to eat healthy. When we talked with other parents we found out that if invited, he attends his students weekend sports games. That’s so cool! We feel so spoiled as parents to have our son taught by Mr. Yotter. He’s an amazing teacher who is always smiling, positive, enthusiastic, and cares for his students in the classroom and beyond the classroom.[hr]

Valorie Zamora

Harlandale ISD, Gillette Elementary; 4th Grade

Nominated by Angela Bazaldua

My son was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and his teachers really try to work with my son. With some minor adjustments in their classes, he has done a lot better and has been nominated as Student of the Month.[hr]

One lucky teacher will be voted as Alamo City’s Amazing Teacher and receive a two-night stay and spa package for two at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa!

From delicious views from the porch of Antlers to the cool poolside dining of Vince’s Watering Hole and Papa Ed’s Pool Bar & Grill, meals at Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa include the flavor of the Hill Country. The upscale dining and Texas flavors of Antlers—so named for the magnificent handcrafted, naturally shed-antler chandelier that serves as the focal point for the room—now includes tables outside, while Springhouse Café, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, provides terrific views of the resort’s garden and pool areas. Additional on-site dining options include Cactus Oak Tavern, located in the Hill Country Golf Club, and Charlie’s Long Bar, a traditional Texas-style saloon with a masterfully crafted, 56-foot-long, copper-topped bar; and more, so no matter what flavor you want to add to your summer, you can find it on-site.

Alamo City’s Amazing Teacher will also receive a complimentary family photo session with the fabulous Amanda Gentis of ARG Photographs.

Her talent is obvious through the beautiful photographs she takes, but what you don’t see is how kind, fun, and wonderful the lady behind the camera is. She makes taking pictures a wonderful experience for all!

Vote for Alamo City’s Amazing Teacher below!

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