COUNCILWOMAN LAUDED
Victoria Fernandez inducted into International Educators' Hall of Fame
Woodland Councilwoman Victoria Fernandez was inducted into Youth-on-the-Move's International Educators' Hall of Fame for her dedication to teaching kindergarten students to use “zoo-phonics” and exposing them to cultural activities during her career as a teacher.
Rick Gonzales Jr. nominated Fernandez for the work she did as an educator. She was inducted during a Dec. 30, 2023, virtual celebration that took place in Anaheim.
Gonzales attended the City Council's Tuesday meeting to introduce Dr. Patricia Adelekan, founder of the International Educators' Hall of Fame, who traveled from Anaheim to present the award to Fernandez in person.
“The International Educators' Hall of Fame had their first ceremony in 1992,” Gonzales said. “(Adelekan) has inducted over 750 educators from 52 countries with induction ceremonies in different locations all over the world including Yolo County.”
Adelekan noted that for someone to be nominated, a person must have retired from the field of education, have served at least 20 years and while serving did “more than the call of duty.”
She recited several of Fernandez's answers to questions judges asked her one of which was a response to the question, “What is your advice to young people.”
“To youth, you have the power to change someone's life by your actions,” Adelekan recited from Fernandez's response. “Please treat others with respect and kindness as you reach for your goals. Don't give up your dreams. Believe you can achieve.”
Additionally, Adelekan noted that the judges appreciated Fernandez's commitment to her younger brother, Delfino Macias, who was deaf and her inspiration to become a teacher.
“I shared with them that when my younger brother was 3 years old and I was 12, we found out that he was deaf,” Fernandez emphasized. “I was able to volunteer in his classroom to support him, learn sign language and kind of immerse myself into his world of academic progress and become the translator, the voice for my brother.”
Fernandez argued that many other teachers are more deserving of the induction than her but said she appreciated Gonzales for the nomination.
“He believes that I've made an impact in our community,” she remarked.
Some of these impacts include programs she helped implement within the Woodland Joint Unified School District that were not always a part of the curriculum or procedures.
“I was able to implement programs and do things with my students that I served in a unique manner and he felt that would be something that should be recognized,” she added. “I loved and was passionate about serving students and providing opportunities for them and went above and beyond the normal curriculum to try to make sure I was meeting their needs.”
One way Fernandez went above and beyond the call of duty was her implementation of zoo-phonics, a kinesthetic, multi-modal approach to teaching kids to read based on phonics and phonemic awareness.
“I went through the training and began implementing it to teach my students to read,” Fernandez recounted. “It helped my students to make connections with letters and sounds. Later on, other teachers went through the training and also implemented zoo phonics.”
Furthermore, Fernandez applied multicultural activities within her classroom that aimed at exposing students to other cultures.
“Because I wasn't necessarily in a bilingual school when I taught at Gibson, that was kind of something I was able to share with my students,” Fernandez highlighted. “We were able to have grandparents come in and teach the children songs and have them perform at a Cinco de Mayo celebration… and participate in activities that were not normally done.”
When speaking about the award's significance, Fernandez highlighted the importance of providing financial support for Youth-on-the-Move, the nonprofit multicultural youth educational organization that runs the hall of fame.
To learn more about the organization, visit youthonthemove.net/programs/yomi.