Fellow Profiles

Elisabeth Calderon, 2009 Denver Teaching Fellow

Elisabeth is currently in her third year of teaching at Valdez Elementary School, a dual language school in Northwest Denver. Since becoming a Fellows, Elisabeth has been recognized for raising the achievement of her students, including increasing CSAP math scores by 20% in her first year in the classroom. Prior to joining the Denver Teaching Fellows, Elisabeth worked in sales and Hispanic marketing. A native Spanish-speaker herself, she always had a strong desire to be a role model for students from similar backgrounds. She had often thought about teaching. The Fellows program offered Elisabeth an expedited route to becoming an effective bilingual Spanish teacher for Denver’s highest need students. Her success in the classroom has not gone unnoticed—Elisabeth was recently invited to be a guest on Educa, a popular radio program designed to provide Spanish-speakers with information about district initiatives and current events. She has also been recognized nationally as a highly effective Teaching Fellow. Watch a video of Elisabeth in action here.

Clay Jessen, 2008 Denver Teaching Fellow

Clay is in his fourth year teaching at Kunsmiller Creative Arts academy. Clay was recognized as a Mile High Teacher of the Year in 2010 and also received the Marquez Foundation Crystal Apple Award for his ability to support student learning by bringing curriculum to life.  After several years working as an engineer, Clay yearned for a career that would give him the opportunity to make a positive impact on the local community. In his spare time he enjoyed acting in improvisational theater and knew teaching could be a great way to use the skills he had gained from both his engineering and theatrical experienced. The Denver Teaching Fellows program gave Clay the chance to start a meaningful new career as a secondary math teacher. Each year, Clay continues to make significant gains in increasing the achievement of his students, helping to close the achievement gap in Denver Public Schools.