29 min read
What This Episode is About
In this heartfelt episode of The Bridge, Cate Tolnai reconnects with longtime friend and educator Kristin Oropeza to explore her journey back into the classroom after several years away. Kristin shares how returning to special education felt like “coming home” and discusses how her work as a mentor, advocate, and mother has deepened her commitment to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and equity in education.
Together, Cate and Kristin reflect on how AI can serve as a creative thought partner for writers and educators while maintaining authenticity and voice. Kristin opens up about her experiences supporting students with diverse needs, her daughter’s learning journey, and the importance of empathy, flexibility, and mental health in today’s classrooms. The conversation closes with a message for new teachers: take a breath, find your people, and lead with heart.
Meet Our Guest
Kristin Oropeza has spent the last 14 years in public education, serving as a special education teacher and Technology TOSA. She is an advocate for educational technology and diverse learners and has presented on these efforts at conferences such as Spring & Fall CUE, ISTE, and CA STEAM Symposium.
Kristin received her Masters of Science from California State University, Long Beach in 2014. She also received California State Certificates of Achievement in Educational Technology and Online & Blended Learning from Krause Innovation Center at Foothill College.
She currently works as an Education Specialist (RSP Teacher) for Brea Olinda Unified School District. She also works part-time for the LA County Office of Education as a Practicum Supervisor and Induction Mentor, working with intern teachers and newly minted educators. A champion for Universal Design for Learning (UDL), she advocates for the creative, thoughtful, and innovative use of technology to ensure equitable access to learning for all. She’s passionate about sharing her knowledge, experience, and expertise with others.
Key Takeaways
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is equity in action — it’s not something extra to add to the plate, but a way to make learning possible for every student.
- Kristin reconnects with a former kindergarten student—now a high schooler—while observing a new teacher, a full-circle moment that reminds her why mentorship matters.
- “Take a breath, listen, and lean on your people.” Building authentic relationships with students and colleagues is the foundation of every great classroom.
- Mentorship and belonging. Kristin’s story highlights how experienced educators can nurture the next generation by modeling empathy, reflection, and lifelong growth.
Transcript
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hi Kristen. How are you?
Kristin Oropeza: Hi Cate. I'm good. How are you doing?
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh, my friend. I just said this to you before I pressed record, but I have to tell you that talking to you is like coming home. I feel like we've been through so much
Kristin Oropeza: No, I.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): of when did we really start working together? Like maybe 2017 is 2018.
Kristin Oropeza: I'm gonna say 2018 'cause that's when I first got
involved with, with CUE LA. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Our journey, like what's
Kristin Oropeza: I
Cate Tolnai (she/her): The Bridge is it's been this. This love story from my heart to like educators, and you have been such a huge part of my journey, like, like since then, and just I feel like you have been this consistent like and solid rock
Kristin Oropeza: God.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): in my garden that I have valued you. Even when I don't tell you, I'm, I'm grateful to have you in my life, so this is so fun to have you on the bridge.
Kristin Oropeza: I feel the same, Cate, I just, I always feel validated after talking to you, and I think that's, that's, in this profession, it's, it's so important to, to get those feelings from somebody, right? Like, especially when, like, I'm not in a house of teachers and I don't, I'm not in a family of teachers, and so sometimes they don't, they don't get.
Like education stuff. So it, it's, it's good to have somebody to, to just, you know, to vent, to celebrate the successes. I just love that. So thank you.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. And I have such a crush on your writing voice. I love
Kristin Oropeza: Thank you,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): you write and I love how you
Kristin Oropeza: thank you.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): And that's been a big part of our journey too. And I think, It's interesting that we are,
Kristin Oropeza: We're,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): with ai
Kristin Oropeza: I know.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): about you a lot because part of my work at the Bridge has also been developing newsletters and
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I use AI to help me. right. But, but I mean, not that we have to live in that space 'cause that's not really the essence of all this. But quick question that probably isn't that quick. Like. has, how has AI impacted your writing? Because you are a writer, you are a beautiful writer.
Kristin Oropeza: Thank you. I, you know, I. Have, I've used AI in the sense that I see it as kind of like a thought partner, right? Like, I will take my writing that I've done, and I, I always know, especially like I don't do, I haven't blogged in a while. I've tried to get back to that and, but I do, I write reviews, like book reviews.
Right. And so just to like clean up my writing, I use it, I stick it, my, my review into it and I just say like, clean it up, right? Like, you know, if I'm, if I miss anything. And so I, I use it in that sense, right? I, I love to use it. To brainstorm stuff, right? Like, like what? Especially around trending topics.
'cause I don't, as a full-time teacher, as a mom, I don't have time as much time anymore to be sitting like scrolling through feeds and reading the news and seeing what's, what's new and what's trending in the world of education. So to have this tool that kind of curates right, what's trending for me, and, and then I can go in and say, oh, I can talk to that.
Let's do a blog. it, it's, it's been really helpful, so,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): That's interesting. Yeah, I, I actually will have it co-create with me. So I actually tell it, I've trained this one project in chat GPT to always write in the voice of Cate till nine, which it does pretty good.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): use a lot of
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): in my public writing. 'cause whenever I say that, I'm like, why are there so many emojis?
Kristin Oropeza: Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): which tracks
Kristin Oropeza: know it does. It, it loves emojis. It like, you know, you know, I don't think it can be emotional. Right. As an ai, so it, it's gotta get it in somehow.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Right. So I'm like, that's, that's very colorful.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah. Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I want, like, I wanna write about this. I want it to be this long. And I want you to ask me one question at a time so that I can shape it with my stories.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that has really been a strategy that works for me. 'cause I feel like everything that's produced is mine.
It's my story. These are, these are my moments, my ideas, but it just. Actually like it's empowering 'cause I'm like, oh, you just wrote it really nice for me. Thank you very much.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I really like how it's like, especially if you've been using it for a while, it starts to recognize the patterns in your own writing, which, which is really helpful. You know, like, you know, 'cause as you said, you, you as a writer have a very distinct voice. Right. And, and to still be able to maintain that.
Right. Well, just. Cleaning up your work and, and, you know, getting a additional idea, you know, I think is, it's, it's really helpful. And as somebody who, who has like ADHD, right? Like, it's very, I've
found it so useful, Cate. Like, so, yeah. Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I want, first of all, Kristen
Kristin Oropeza: Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): who are you? Your bio will be in the
Kristin Oropeza: Oh my gosh.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): but how did, like
Kristin Oropeza: Oh
Cate Tolnai (she/her): our story?
Kristin Oropeza: my gosh.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): story?
Kristin Oropeza: Oh my gosh. Okay. my story, I've been in education for about 14 years, if you can believe it.
I've, I've served as like a long time special ed teacher. I did a short hiatus as a tech coach. I, the last three and a half years I've actually been, I had been working, at an educational. I say educational, right? But I, they do a lot more than that. but, nonprofit here in California, and then just recently returned to the classroom this fall, and I'm still doing all the other stuff too, right?
Like, I, like I work. You know, for LA County Office of Ed, as an induction mentor. the last year I was an intern supervisor, so I was working with like brand new
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Oh, I
Kristin Oropeza: ed teachers, and,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): lucky to have
Oh my gosh.
Kristin Oropeza: I have to tell you a funny story, Cate. Okay. I, I was overseeing, an intern who was working at a local district.
and it happened to be the, the district I started off as, as an aide and, and then got a teaching position in that district. and I go into this interns classroom on the first day to do my first observation, and no joke. My kid, the, the kid I taught as a kindergarten SDC teacher right, is sitting in my interns class as a sophomore in high school.
And, and I was like, oh, my, like, talk about like full circle, right? Like, I'm like, oh my gosh. And I clocked him right away. I'm like, oh my gosh. You were my kid. And, and he, the funny thing was like, he still, the quirks that I had, you know, like seen in him as a, as a 5-year-old, he still had, you know, like as a, as a, as a sophomore.
And it was just like, like, you know, it was really cool. So yeah, I, I loved, I loved doing that. I love working with new teachers. It's, it's such, and, and I think I, I really enjoyed it the last few years because not being in the classroom, right, I still got. Got that perspective without having been the one teaching in the classroom.
So it was, it was really good. I, I really enjoy that.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So,
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): what made you wanna return to the classroom?
Kristin Oropeza: You know what I, I don't think it was, it was really planned. Like I was, you know, happy with where I was at and loved what I was doing. 'cause the role I was in, I was working with teachers right. And I got to do some professional development. I was still presenting at conferences, which as you know, I love to do and, and just, which is funny 'cause I'm, I'm not the extrovert that, that you are Cate.
but,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): You're an intro.
Kristin Oropeza: but
Cate Tolnai (she/her): introvert.
Kristin Oropeza: I, I am. Yeah. When, when forced to be. Yeah. so, you know, I was, I was happy there and I, and, and I don't think, you know, like I, I really was looking for, for a job. I, you know, there were a couple positions that came up and I was like, it would be a disservice if I didn't, didn't apply because they were like.
Like positions. I always told myself I, like, I would not leave my job unless the right position came along at the right time. Right. And, and this position came up and it was very last minute. It was like, it was like at the end of summer school had already started for some of the districts in our area and.
I don't even know if I like consciously was like, like I wanna go back in the classroom. Right? But I interviewed for this, for this job and like they were just, I interviewed with the principal and then one of the program specialists for the district, and I'm just like. Like, I thought it went really well, and I was like, okay, that's great.
Like, you know, like we will see how it goes. And then they ended up calling me the next day and they said, can, can you start? and it happened really quickly. Like I had to leave my, my other job really quick, which I, you know, made me sad. But they were starting school next week and they needed, they needed a special ed teacher.
And I was like, I mean, you know, I was sad to go, but I, I think I ended up. Like where, where I was most needed. And, and, and you mentioned it earlier, like this job I, and I've told you before, I, I started in education as an instructional aide in a, in a classroom, in an RSP classroom. and did that for a couple years and then, was going to school.
And then when I got my teaching credential, got a job in that district and I always wanted to go back to special ed, like to go back to RSP. And I've been an SDC teacher. Resource specialist program. So those are.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): and a special ed teacher?
Kristin Oropeza: So, so there's still special ed, special ed teachers, but like an RSP program is, are typically teachers who go into, general education classrooms and they either push in, so they provide support to the teacher in the classroom and do maybe like a co-teaching model or they pull out students, for services, whether it's like.
You know, 30 or 40 minutes at a time, as opposed to what I was doing for the last 14 years, which is an SDC classroom, which is like fully contained. And you have, yeah. Yeah. And so, so you have students who have disabilities all in one classroom, and maybe they push out for, for mainstreaming for a little bit.
They go into the gen ed classroom, but the bulk of their day is with the SDC teacher. And, and so I, I've been doing SDC for 14 years and I'm, and. Was really good at it and, but RSP was where I started. It was. My first job and it was, you know, like my heart. And so it, it felt like coming home, like you said, that and, and I just, this position is just it.
I really like it. I really like the school community. The principal is amazing. The support staff at the district office, like, I don't think I've ever felt. As supported as a special ed teacher, which is really, it's critical as a new teacher to the district. Right. I've been doing this special ed thing for a while, but as a new teacher to the district, never felt more supported and it's, I, you know, I am, I couldn't be happier.
I'm, I'm really, I love it. It, it is really great, so,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): course you, of course you do. Like
Kristin Oropeza: oh, good. Good.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): it's so interesting, like, 'cause we've talked so openly about your journey and,
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): and like even the way that you. have integrated technology so mindfully and you've been such a voice and an activist and an advocate for, for accessibility and technology and for all kids, and appropriate
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): tech to bring all learners to the space. Very
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): universal
Kristin Oropeza: Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Learning,
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I have my heart. I have a big crush on the UDL framework, like especially 3.0, like the newest
Kristin Oropeza: Yes, yes,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): heart, my
Kristin Oropeza: yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): so knowing that you, again, I use the words like advocate and act and activist in this space because you actually go out and you. activate others to consider ways of bringing how they can improve their own practice. So
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that, where does that come from for you?
Kristin Oropeza: Where does that come from? you know, I think when thinking about like UDL and equity, right? I, I I think these two things are, are inseparable, right? UDL is equity in action and, and it's so important, especially now, and I I say like especially post COVID, right? that we as teachers are meeting students where they're at.
Right. And, and UDL is a, is a great framework to, to do that. I think one of the, the, the major hangups, like, teachers, and I say it like non-special ed teachers, right? sometimes here UDL and, and it's a buzzword. Oops, sorry.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Hey.
Kristin Oropeza: He wants to make an appearance. Sorry. but, but I don't know. He, he, he's getting mad 'cause he's hungry and I haven't fed him yet, so.
Okay. you just have to hold on, sir. but, but teachers, they hear this term medial and, and like, like, you know, like. Terms that are trending. Right. and, and they, they think it's just another, something to add onto their plate of demands. And, and I, I always try to tell teachers, especially those who, you know, if you have a district who's pushing UDL and, and you yourself have not been trained right.
in UDL or, or, you know, haven't, don't have that special ed background, I, I always try to tell 'em like, UDL really is just like. It is the best teaching practices. Right. And it's probably stuff you're already doing in the classroom. We're just putting a name to it and, and it's not something like additionally to, to add to your plate.
Right? you know, it, it's also not. A a about it is not just a check mark, right. Like, you know, on paper. and then, you know, I don't know if, if teachers sometimes look at it as like, like, oh, it's just making things easier for the students. It's, it's, it's really not, it, it's about making, I think about making success possible for every learner in ev in, in every classroom.
Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah. Inviting every kid to
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): in their way with their strengths. Right.
Kristin Oropeza: Yes, yes, yes.
And it definitely, UDL definitely focuses on, I mean, like, like not looking at the, the deficits right within the child. it, it, it's about the environment. What can you do? How, how can you, how can you tweak something in your, your physical environment that'll, that'll help, you know, students just learn a little bit better.
Learn to, to, to, to their tune, right? Like, so.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): it reminds me of this book that we, that
Kristin Oropeza: Yes. Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Gholdy Muhammad's
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): "Cultivating Genius." And what I, what,
Kristin Oropeza: Mm-hmm.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I really appreciate about this and connecting it back to what you're saying is like pausing long enough to actually like learn. Learn enough about each of your students to then help them identify their genius and then active, and then helping them like apply that genius in these other
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Like
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): to do for teachers too. And I think that's really
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that I've enjoyed about working with you over these years is you've always led with like a, a of teachers. Mindset, right? That like, and I've seen you, I've seen you, I've seen you present, I've seen you, share, I've seen you write, I've seen you, you your own podcast.
I've seen all of that. And it's, it's so, it's such a, it can be overlooked, but it, it's not something I overlooked. 'cause I notice it. And I notice that what you do is you also help. find their genius, and like in doing that, you're you're like giving them an experience that they can then replicate with their kids,
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): because you've been so artful in bringing these, bringing accessibility to teachers who haven't been officially trained on it or haven't been formally prepared.
Kristin Oropeza: It, it's interesting, I, I shared this, I was on a panel last night for, another organization that I've, I've worked with in the past, and we, we were talking about UDL and stuff and, and you know, the, the, the students that we get right in, in our classrooms, And I saw this a lot after COVID. we have more and more students coming in who have just extra needs, right?
And, and sometimes these students don't have an IEP yet, right? maybe they haven't even gone through the evaluation process. Maybe they're still going through what we consider the SSD process, which is like. Like looking at interventions and, and what is helping them. and so we have all these kids with extra needs and these gen ed teachers.
and I, and I can say this 'cause I, I have a multiple subject credential and so I went through the gen ed, you know, teaching program at at Long Beach. we get, I think it was like one class. Right. For how to teach students with exceptionalities and, and that is not enough and, and definitely not enough in, in today's, in today's world.
and, and so like being, being that person and, and I've told you before, I, I love talking to teachers. I love sharing. And, and I think that's what got me into to mentoring with, with Laco and stuff because, I, I recognize, especially as a first year teacher, way back when, Even with the training, I didn't have some of the skills I needed to be successful in, in classroom management and really difficult behaviors.
And, and especially at like coming back after three and a half years, seeing like, oh, like how do I motivate these kids to like actually wanna work? Like when they come to my classroom for the 30 minutes, I see them a day. and and you talked about that passion project, right? And, and finding out what interests these students, you know, and, and going just.
Beyond the, the, the superficial stuff and, and, and being someone that they, they recognize actually, you know, gives, gives a crap about 'em. Right. Because since being back, I've also seen teachers who they have very challenging behaviors in the class and, and they're not getting to know those students who are acting out and, maybe not wanting to do some of the, what we consider the, like, the extra stuff to, to get to know them and, and figure out what are their triggers and stuff. And it, it just, it makes me really sad because, you know, I, I always think back and it's, it is so cliche, but the TED Talk with Rita Pearson.
And you know about the being a, being a champion for your, your children. So, and, and she says something and it has stuck. And I mean, like, I, I watched that video and, and years later, Cate, like, you know, she, she said, kids will not learn from teachers they don't like, or vice versa. Right? Like, so, so, you know, I, I know.
We get, we get so many, so many kids in our classroom, and, and, and it's, I think it's our job to, to figure out what's gonna help them, and whether that's academically or whether that's behaviorally, you know, so,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Do you
Kristin Oropeza: yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): you're in the space of mentoring and induction, do you
Kristin Oropeza: Mm-hmm.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): the next generation of educators are coming to classrooms, better prepared for that? Or like, how would you define their readiness to differentiate and, and kind of create those moments of connection with all their learners?
Kristin Oropeza: I think there's still, I mean, like the same, you know, like there, you, you take those basic classes right at school, but nothing, nothing will prepare you for that first time you have a student. Go off in your classroom. Right? And, and you need to, deescalate behavior, right? Very quickly and very rapidly.
and so I, you know, I think they have the basics. It's maybe the application part, right? I still, you know, like I look at the teachers who are interning and, and they're learning on the job, right? Like these interns that I supervised last year, they were taking their like. Pedagogy classes at the same time that they were in the classroom.
And some of these interns were having IEPs before they even learned about IEPs in the class, right? Mm-hmm. And so I look at that and then I, I compare that to like, like what I did through my own. Like I did the student teaching thing, you know, first and, you know, was working part-time and, and got to focus on the class, but.
I don't know. I don't know if there, you know, one experience outweighs the other. 'cause you know, there's, I think there's pros and cons to either, to both, but I, I definitely see like the teachers I'm supporting this year, like they're still struggling with behaviors in the class. Right. And, and, and that changes from one year to the next.
Right. Each new group of students they get. and, and learning how, you know, to address those needs and, and what works for one group could be totally different from the next group. I think that's, that's ever, that's gonna be ever changing, right? Like every year they're gonna have to, they're gonna have to pick up new tools and add it to their, you know, their, their toolbox.
And, so I, I think, you know, like. I think they've gotten better and they realize like the learner variability, right? Especially, and again, especially post COVID, right? Knowing that we have students who are coming into our classrooms and. We, we need to develop those relationships and, and that inclusivity and, especially the mental health aspect of it now.
Right. and, and I think those are, those are things that I hope, you know, districts continue to prioritize, you know, with, with their teachers, especially new teachers who might need additional training with it,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Well, I
Kristin Oropeza: so.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): much of the funding has shifted in the last
Kristin Oropeza: Mm-hmm.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): like six or seven years, and I think we saw ed tech monies shifting away from. specialist and toss
Kristin Oropeza: Special
Cate Tolnai (she/her): and moving towards like kind of being instructional
Kristin Oropeza: being general,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): teachers in, in that general way
Kristin Oropeza: that general one.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): those funds to be available for SEL needs and behavioral needs and stuff.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that there's more, since you've, since you've been back, there's more in place in that area for kids?
Kristin Oropeza: I'm gonna say that it's largely dependent on your district and your school and and where you work. So I work, this is the first time working in Orange County School. and I'll tell you right now, LA Schools and Orange County schools are really different. they are, they are. But, but it's still, it's still a Title one school, right?
we have a, I, I think we have the highest special ed population in the district because we have so many special ed. Classrooms on our school site. we are also a, a dual immersion school, so we have dual immersion classes, which are really cool. Spanish, Spanish and English. So, and then, one of the things that we've been doing this year, with our, our district is working really closely with OCDE, so the Orange County Department of Ed.
and we are going to be, I think they said that, I think it's a, we are officially the first elementary school to have a designated well space for students. Yeah. It, it is so cool. It's, it's a whole. Classroom and it's going to be used for student wellness. And you know, when students need to, regulate themselves, right, or, or deescalate from behaviors that might be happening in the classroom.
Just a space for them to go and, and to focus solely on, on their mental health. And so we're getting training. From OCDE, who they're coming in and they're providing training at our staff meetings, about like trauma, trauma-informed practices, which I think is really important. especially, especially post COVID.
and so we're, we're getting training on that. and it's gonna be, they, they have these well spaces. At several different other, I think middle schools or high schools, but we are the first elementary school in Orange County to be designated as this. So it's, it's really cool. And I think it's, it's, it's gonna be really, really awesome when they do the, we, I think the ribbon cutting is next month, so they're gonna launch it soon, so
Cate Tolnai (she/her): so exciting. I
Kristin Oropeza: I know, I know.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I, I have the privilege of teaching teachers. 'cause I, I adjunct at a small university in Northern California. I get to teach them their one unit of health class. And, I actually got to write the curriculum. So I inherited and then was able to judge it. And so we talk a lot in that class about creating space for all the learners, right?
Because 'cause so much of the health conversations, I know these, I believe these teachers need to have or need to be thinking about is like, how do, what does my space say?
Kristin Oropeza: Right,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): non-verbally, how am I, how am I, how am I
Kristin Oropeza: right.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): welcoming kids into my space? How a whole
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): just teacher health and wellness. Because like
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): too, so it's so cool to hear. I can't wait to tell them that that's happening. That is really cool.
Kristin Oropeza: is, it is. I, I love seeing, going into classrooms and seeing some of these pieces that we've gotten training on about, like I, as a special ed teacher, I always had a calm down corner.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): right,
Kristin Oropeza: my classroom. And, and to see that now as a standard practice in, in gen ed spaces, I think is really cool to see flexible seating, which I did all the time, right?
I had the wobble seats, I had the, the sensory cushions, I had the sensory bands on the bottom of the chairs, fidgets, like, but to see those now as like standard practice and, and these other spaces is really cool because I, I, again, I think for so long people thought, oh, it's a special ed thing. No, it's just a good practice for all of your students, right?
So.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): how
Kristin Oropeza: It's really cool.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that still would
Kristin Oropeza: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): obviously like
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): this is all a spectrum, right? And our brains
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): need different things in different moments, in different
Kristin Oropeza: Yes. Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So I know you share really openly about your daughter, so do you wanna tell us a little bit about your daughter and how she plays a part in
Kristin Oropeza: sure. so my daughter, she's great. She's a fourth grader now.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): she's in fourth grade.
Kristin Oropeza: I know, oh my God, she's gotten so big. yeah. And so, but she, and she goes to, I, I am privileged enough to be able to send her to a Catholic school, which my mom helps out a lot for, because I don't think, I think she'd be at a public school, otherwise.
But you know, like our faith is very important to us. And so she's at this Catholic school, and she's been there, she started there as a preschooler. And so they have like preschool, they have tk, kinder all the way up through eighth grade. so she can, she can spend the whole, the whole spectrum of her elementary and middle school years at this one site.
and so she started there as a, a preschooler and her teacher. They started in August and her preschool teacher in October was telling me that my, she wouldn't be able to pass my daughter into to TK because my daughter wasn't talking. And so, we went to the pediatrician and like talked, you know, a lot about like what we were seeing in school.
and she was diagnosed as being a select mute. Right. And she was very, very bright, right? Very socially aware, even at three years old in preschool. and she would come up and she'd say, mommy, I don't like how the kids look at me when I stand up in front of the class and talk. and so she, she was, she was not talking in front of peers, but she was talking to her teacher.
She, the teacher would pull her aside and Lacey would kind of, you know, you know, whisper to the teacher. So she was talking and she, and she was doing her work and this teacher. Two months into the school year saying, no, she's not gonna go to to TK because she's not talking like it, it totally rubbed me the wrong way.
So we, we went and we ended up getting her, we got her assessed through our home district. Right. And when they finally assessed her, you know, we had gone out on COVID, so doing an assessment. For an, I, like an initial, like IEP while we were on COVID was like a whole trip in itself. but they came back and, and I was just looking for it.
Like I, I knew my daughter was smart, right? Like, and, and I was looking f. Hopefully for services to just work on this like speech and pragmatics and stuff. Right? The social, the social part of, of communication. and they came back and they were like, no, she's, she's actually testing like closer to gate levels and she doesn't qualify.
And I'm like, but she has needs, right?
Cate Tolnai (she/her): wow.
Kristin Oropeza: and so that, that was just so, I mean, like it was so disheartening to, from the parent side, right, to see like, like. My kid has needs like, and, and I can't do it at home because she's a completely different kid communicating at home than she is at school. and so.
Thankfully, you know, like she, she, there was no, she wasn't held back or anything. Right? And she got into tk and she had the same teacher loop for TK and kinder. And that teacher, again, when we talk about this relationships and, and how important it's for the, the development of the, the kid, she connected with my daughter and was like.
Like, it's okay. Like, like if she needs to slow down, if she's not okay speaking, that's okay. We'll, we'll find a way to like, make sure she knows her, her needs are gonna get, get, get met and she can still have a voice within the classroom. and so that teacher was just, was just so great and, and. Now she's still, she still got her, I call 'em quirks, right?
Like she's still a little bit shy. She's, she's, doesn't readily, readily share in class. And we've had to now, as, as a fourth grader, when, you know, when we met for parent teacher conferences earlier this year, had to talk to the teacher and be like, look, like, I don't like bringing it up. Because like, I feel like in some ways she's, she's grown past some of that, some of the, some of the, the social anxiety she feels with, with.
That initial diagnosis. But I said, like she's telling me now, she's, she doesn't want to raise her hand in class and participate because she's afraid of getting the wrong answer and she doesn't wanna seem less than in front of her kids, in front of her peers. And so I said, what can we do, like teacher like to, to, so you know that she still, she still wants to participate, right?
And. But maybe we need to think about like how she does that. Can she do it on a Post-It and give you the Post-it instead? Right. Like.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Yeah.
Kristin Oropeza: So, so coming up with ideas like that, with a teacher, even now as a fourth grader, right. so, you know, and, and, and now seeing like other stuffs coming up, right? Like I'm, I'm pretty sure she has A-D-H-A-D-H-D like me.
and, and, like now looking into going and getting that, like diagnosed officially with, with, with a doctor and stuff and seeing what needs to be done there. So, yeah, so definitely putting, putting, yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): No, what were you gonna say?
Kristin Oropeza: I, I was just gonna say, just putting it into practice, right? Everything, everything I have learned as a special ed teacher and, and, and bringing it home and being like, yeah, I know what that is.
Right. And, and just, you know, I, it, it, it's sad. The one thing I, I really love, like the Catholic education system and, and, and there's a lot of pros to that. the biggest con is that most Catholic schools. Do not have somebody on staff who has, is a special ed teacher and they don't hire anybody to, to help address special needs within the classroom.
And those students are, are either told, you know, or their families are told that they either. Stay caught up, or they can go to another school and that's, that's not how it should be. And I understand like budgets and stuff are different, but, you know, I, I think again, special ed teachers help all students not just like those with, with the identified needs.
So, yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): How
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): has all of that impacted the way you're, you're helping to shape the next gen of teachers?
Kristin Oropeza: Oh my gosh. I think I tried to imbue on them, right? Like, like how important it is to have empathy, right? you, you never know like what, what your students are going through, right? you know, I, I can see a kid and I can see him, get triggered by something and. Without knowing like, what's going on at home, and, and we can assume, oh, like, it, it's so easy to assume like, oh, this kid's just acting out like, you know, he doesn't wanna do the work.
We don't know if, you know, he didn't, he didn't, have breakfast this morning. Right. And he came to school hungry, or, you know, maybe their parents are going through some stuff, and that's very triggering and, and very traumatic for that child. And then they're, you know, they're seeing their parents fight at home and then they're coming to school and being expected to work when, when that's the last thing they, they really feel like doing.
Right. and, and so just trying to. To impart, you know, on, on them that I think empathy is so important in, in what we do and, and having and trying to maintain dignity with our students. I think I, I don't think that ever goes away. Right. Even as an, as an adult learner. Right. and, and somebody who's, who's taught, you know, you know, college level kids before I, I think it's just so important, right.
You know, so.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I wish I would've been in your orbit back when I was teaching. Because I, I taught until 2013, 2012, I taught middle school. And I think, I think about all the things I've learned, just being around you and listening to you and, and how, you make, you make accessibility accessible for all of us, which I know that's a bit redundant, but you do.
And it's like, think you live it in a way that's driven with passion and, and you also, I think you help a lot of teachers understand the role that they can play in ways that they're, that these teacher prep programs are not yet. that's why you and I are in teacher prep at teacher education, so we
Kristin Oropeza: Yes.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): it.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah. Yes. Right. You, you have to be, you have to be the change you wanna see, right? Like, and I, I like, I, I just look, I was talking to somebody else the other day about the, the teacher prep programs and, and I said, we were talking about, we were talking about a tech course, right? and how the teachers that are teaching this tech course are still using like tools like Microsoft and I said.
I said, but do you know what they're using in the districts? I said, a bulk of the districts, at least the ones I've worked in, we were not Microsoft Schools. We were Google schools. And so the, the kids are still trying to, these college students are still doing. PowerPoints, right. Instead of, instead of Google Slides or, and, and, and I think there's still this huge disconnect about what's being taught in the teacher prep programs and what's actually happening in schools and the tools that as a brand new teacher you have access to.
and so I think, you know, that's, that's a big thing I think. I think, yeah. That I, I have so many thoughts on that. I could, I could.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): our next podcast. Cate.
Kristin Oropeza: Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I feel like we could, 'cause we didn't get to talk much at all about the ed tech, but I.
Kristin Oropeza: I know.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): care. This time is lovely and, and, and it's just, it's great to see, to see your fire, you know, lit and this space
Kristin Oropeza: Thank
Cate Tolnai (she/her): and
Kristin Oropeza: you. Thank you.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): I What, what do you think is, I mean, maybe you've already said it, but like you work with these new teachers.
If you were to, like, if you were to go back and talk to yourself as like a second or third year teacher, what wisdom might you share with yourself?
Kristin Oropeza: I, I would probably tell myself to, to be more open to criticism and, and I know that is so hard, right? Because, you know, you, I, I was a first generation college student, Cate, so I, you know, was the first one to, to go to school in my family and, and graduate, and it was. I was so proud about that fact, right?
Like, I went to school, like I got a, I got a degree. I know so much. Right? And then going into the classrooms and, and, and having that same mentality. Didn't serve me well. Right. I, I was very outspoken because I thought I knew everything right. and that ended up getting me in trouble sometimes.
Right. For being too, too much of an advocate for the students. Right. Districts don't like that. anything that costs them money, they don't like that. so, so I, I, you know, like I, I probably would've told myself, you know, like, just, just take a breath and listen. Right. I would've leaned in more on, on some of my special ed colleagues.
I think in the first couple of years of team, you're so wrapped up and there's so much to do and it's overwhelming and like it's, if you're doing what I did right, which is like you're teaching full-time and you're still like, you're going to like your master's classes at nighttime, and you have no time for your own like mental health or you know, just, you know, I, I think it's.
Just take a breath, right? And like lean in on who you find, find your people right. That you can go to and, and your safe space and, and gather strength from them because you're going, you're gonna need it on, on those really rough days. And you know, I, I work with a couple, I, I work with a new teacher right at, on my school site.
And, and I know things get tough in, in these, in these special ed classrooms. And, you know, I, I try to. Be that person, right? Like I've told this new teacher, I said like, if you just need to vent, right? Because I know I've been there. Like, if you need to vent and you need to scream and you just need to like, like do whatever I'm your person, come, come talk to me.
We'll, we'll go get a coffee, you know? We'll, you know, so, and, and it's. It, it's hard because especially, like I said, if you don't come from like, I like, and that was hard, like coming home, e even even when I was back in the classroom a few years ago, and coming home and my, my husband is not a teacher and, and is not in the education space and so it was hard to vent Right.
And, and say like, this is, this was so hard. He just didn't get it. And to, to have another. Person to be that and, and to understand. I think it, it's just so good for your own mental health, so, yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): you
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): you are, a gift to
Kristin Oropeza: Oh,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): many
Kristin Oropeza: thank you. Cate.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Talk about just somebody who's gonna help, who's gonna help connect the generations of educators. You are living it, and I'm grateful to
Kristin Oropeza: I.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): be your friend.
Kristin Oropeza: I hope, I hope I come out off as helpful, Cate. Not like some pretentious, like, you know, like
Cate Tolnai (she/her): No,
Kristin Oropeza: 14-year-old veteran that just needs to go, you know, like
Cate Tolnai (she/her): no, that's not your
Kristin Oropeza: Good, good, good, good.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): Not at all. I think, I, yeah, I mean, it's, it's passion and it's, and it's love and it comes from a really wonderful place and,
Kristin Oropeza: It does.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): that idea of just take a breath. I think that's good. Like, take a breath. Listen,
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): all good.
Kristin Oropeza: Yeah,
Cate Tolnai (she/her): perfect way to wrap up this
Kristin Oropeza: yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): So thank you
Kristin Oropeza: Yes. Thank you Cate, for having me. It's always, I, you know, like you said, it's, it's always so nice to talk to you and, and feel validated with, you know. What, what we're doing and, and, and living. I say living the dream. God, that is so cliche, but it, it really is because, you know, it's not, it's not work if, if you love doing it every day.
So, so, yeah.
Cate Tolnai (she/her): it. Well, until next
Kristin Oropeza: yeah. Thank you, Cate.
