San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Principal Cynthia De La Garza
Collins Garden Elementary School
Cynthia De La Garza said her desire to help others began at an early age. When childhood friends came to her house, they often played school and, of course, she was the teacher. "I can say that I grew up essentially with a piece of chalk in my hand and my own chalkboard."
De La Garza's career in education began in 1987 when she took a job as an elementary school special education teacher. She also taught first grade and worked at Education Service Center Region 20, a regional education service agency that helps school districts improve student performance and school operations. "It was actually through Region 20 where the school leadership piece for me really took off, and my love for being more of a school leader came to be," she said.
De La Garza, who has been a school principal for 19 years, just began her ninth year as principal at Collins Garden Elementary School in the San Antonio Independent School District. Among the lessons she's learned over the years, is that principals should expect the unexpected. Last year's COVID-19 outbreak forced her and school administrators across the country to come up with a new lesson plan. "All of last year was about helping parents log in to computers, how to use a computer, how to Zoom, how to support their child," she said. De La Garza believes virtual learning is here to stay and components of it are good, but it's not for everyone. In her opinion, online instruction will never replace a teacher in the classroom.
Collins Garden Elementary School has a garden/ monarch sanctuary in the middle of the campus. The garden has become a great place for staff, students and parents to come together to tag and learn about the butterflies and tend to the garden. “That’s been a big part of our school, our garden, it really brings our community together.” While the garden will remain, part of the unique campus at 167 Harriman Place, will be soon be renovated. De La Garza is excited about the upcoming changes, which she said should be completed by 2024 or 2025.
Her lifelong passion for education inspired two of her siblings to join the ranks of educators. Her youngest brother teaches geometry and algebra at Johnson High School. She also told me about her oldest brother, who had taught chemistry at Harlandale High School for five years. Her older brother just recently passed away. "My oldest brother became a teacher at an older age," De La Garza recalled. "He graduated from A&M San Antonio when he was 56 years old."
In 2020, De La Garza was named the Region 20 TEPSAN of the Year by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TEPSA). The award is given annually to educators for their outstanding service to the association.
Assistant Superintendent Joanelda De León overseas elementary school campuses in SAISD. De León, who used to be a principal, has known De La Garza for about 17 years. She said De La Garza does not let her years of experience make her stagnant. De León thinks her colleague is extraordinary because she stays current, is motivated, and serves as a leader and mentor for new principals. "She huddles with them and really just tries to share what her experience and knowledge is, so that makes her pretty top-notch," said De León.