Arlette Salcedo is a new face at Fauquier High School. She grew up in Caracas, Venezuela, before moving to the United States. Salcedo isn’t new to the teaching world. “I have been teaching for 43 years, and I worked at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas City Public Schools [and] Osborne High School… I also worked at [the] UCEDA [Institute], a language academy for bilingual students,” she shared.

Salcedo’s goal as a teacher is to help students become the best they can. “My goals this year are to…have my students succeed and to leave the school with a good impression of me,” she stated positively.

To reach this goal, Salcedo has a variety of different teaching styles, like using “visuals, movies [and] songs.” This is particularly helpful for “English learners to explain every part of the skills…like listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, morphological structures and pronunciation.”

Most of Salcedo’s teaching skills come from good communication skills, as she said, “My strengths as a teacher are first, discipline, and explaining every single detail.”

Because of the Venezuelan background, Salcedo’s first language wasn’t English; it was Spanish, “so it’s easier to teach because I am an English learner as well.” Salcedo utilizes her language-learning background to assist students in more effectively navigating the English language. However, Salcedo has one weakness; she claims to be too kind. “My weakness is that sometimes I’m too sweet and that doesn’t help much.” Salcedo finds it very easy to be kind to students. “The easiest part of teaching is giving love to my students.” Because of this, Salcedo also claims the hardest part of teaching is having to set boundaries and give students the appropriate consequences. “The hardest part of teaching is discipline when the students don’t want to pay attention,” Salcedo states.

Salcedo is a welcoming and helpful teacher. She spreads positivity throughout the school and throughout her classroom. Salcedo is openly welcomed to the Fauquier family and she is excited to see where these next few years take her.