This year, Gables’s own Mr. Julio Garcia was honored with the title of 2017 Street Law Educator of the Year. The award is presented annually, and educators of all levels from across the nation are considered to receive the honorary title. Even though Garcia didn’t start out teaching law, his passion and motivation for teaching both in and out of the classroom made him the clear winner.

Every year, Street Law (an organization promoting the education of law) partners with McGraw-Hill to elect the Street Law Educator of the Year. Teachers from all over the United States, at the high school or a university levels, may be chosen as recipients of the award. Therefore, there is no doubt about why Garcia is so proud of his accomplishment.

For 30 years, Garcia has been dedicated to teaching, and he has been part of the Gables staff for 19. When Garcia first started at Gables, he didn’t teach law; it wasn’t until the principal approached him and asked that he took it on in 1996. While he may not have studied to teach law, he was definitely determined to not let that get in the way of being able to teach effectively. After learning the material, he was able to successfully teach the class, and even ended up learning for himself that he loved teaching law.

However, Garcia’s passion and enthusiasm isn’t just limited to the classroom- outside of school he also works with Mock Trial. Under his guidance, the Mock Trial team has been able to succeed at district, state and even national levels. Outside of school, Garcia enjoys spending time with his family, and loves to travel.

“[What I find most rewarding about teaching law is] when you find kids learning. For instance, when you walk around and the kids are learning in groups, and you hear them talking to one another, and what they’re actually doing is that they’re teaching each other what I’ve already taught them, that’s very gratifying,” Garcia said.

Mr. Garcia exemplifies the passion and drive teachers should have both in and out of the classroom. Gables is proud to have a teacher like Mr. Garcia on staff, and we wish him many more successes in the future.