Julio Alas – Munroe Elementary, Kindergarten

I am a Denver Native. My family is from El Salvador, so I identify as Salvadoran-American. I graduated from DU with my BA in Psychology and Spanish in 2008. Before DTR, I worked as a clinical case manager at the Mental Health Center of Denver. DTR seemed like an amazing way to learn how to be an effective teacher that would truly help me become an amazing teacher for my community. As a product of DPS, I'd like to take part in closing the achievement gap by helping the school system that helped me as a child. I love that DTR provides us with the tools we will need to make a difference in a child's life. Teaching is an amazing opportunity to help the community and positively impact the lives of children. I'm looking forward to getting the full teaching experience by being in a classroom working directly with youth. The biggest challenge facing today's teachers is closing the achievement gap and having to do it so quickly. I have been surprised by the overwhelming amount of youth who are not performing at grade level. I believe DTR will change this.