Monique Sanchez is bringing enthusiasm, creativity and a passion for connecting with students to her new position as a Spanish teacher at Allen County-Scottsville High School. Sanchez enters her fourth year as a high school Spanish teacher. She spent the previous three years teaching at Gordonsville High School in Gordonsville, Tennessee.
A 1989 graduate of Highland Academy in Portland, Tennessee, Sanchez earned a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management from Western Governors University in 2020. She later earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Before entering education, Sanchez worked in healthcare as a bilingual medical assistant and medical interpreter. Her decision to become a teacher grew from the challenges her family experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, Sanchez balanced working from home, helping her two teenage children with online schooling and caring for her husband, Ruben, who was undergoing dialysis and faced an increased risk of complications from the virus.
“I decided that if we survived the epidemic, I wanted to do something that brought me joy every day, in case it was my last,” Sanchez explained. “I thought, what better place than with teenagers who will be our next leaders?”
Students entering Sanchez’s classroom can expect an energetic and welcoming learning environment filled with laughter and conversation. She wants students to understand that studying another language involves more than memorizing vocabulary words. It also provides opportunities to appreciate different cultures, communicate with more people and step beyond familiar surroundings.
Sanchez plans to focus on conversational Latin American Spanish that students can use in everyday situations.
“I will bring lots of energy, laughter and conversation into my classroom,” she said. “I want to teach our students about the value of learning about other cultures and people and stepping out of their comfort zones.”
Through her previous teaching experience, Sanchez has learned that teenagers are interested in gaining new knowledge when they understand how it relates to their lives and futures.
“Teenagers are eager to learn new things and make our world a little brighter,” Sanchez added. “They just need to see real-life reasons why they should learn new things, and that’s where good teachers and parents come in.”
Sanchez is the mother of three grown children and has two grandchildren, all of whom live nearby in Tennessee. She and her husband moved to Scottsville in 2019 and have developed a strong appreciation for the community.
“My husband Ruben and I have grown to love our little community,” she noted.
Outside the classroom, Sanchez enjoys drawing, painting and singing. She also spends much of her free time helping her husband operate their small auto-detailing business.
As she begins her first year with Allen County Schools, Sanchez hopes to help students discover the practical benefits of speaking Spanish while developing greater curiosity and respect for the people and cultures around them.