Mission CISD honors Mrs. Adelina B. Alaniz for her 50 years of service to the school district at the District Service Awards Banquet on April 23rd. She was presented with a hand-crafted wooden abacus that had a golden plate inscribed with the following words; “Your impact from 50 years of preparing students to be mathematical thinkers is impossible to calculate. Thank you!” This award was to commemorate her dedication to teaching mathematics to so many, in addition to, mentoring educators in this field.
She has been impacting students’ lives since she was initially hired to work at Mission Jr. High as an 8th grade Math teacher. She was instrumental in starting the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Number Sense program at Mission Jr. High and later at Kenneth White Jr. High. She has even coached multiple Texas Math and Science Coaches Association (TMSCA) Number Sense State Winners.
Her love of mathematics has always been at the foundation of the many positions she’s had throughout the years. They include Department Head, UIL Number Sense Coach, Math and Science Coordinator, Math Coordinator, Secondary Math Coordinator, Advanced Academics/UIL Coordinator, Staff Development Math Presenter, UIL Presenter, and many others.
“I didn’t know that teaching was my calling because I initially wanted to work in the medical technology field but as life would have it, that plan, was not meant for me,” states Mrs. Alaniz, Advanced Academics/UIL Coordinator. “I changed my major while still attending college and I was able to obtain a Bachelor of Science, Teaching Certification, and a Master’s Degree in Mathematics.”
She has many years of experience under her belt as well as many accolades and awards that she has earned throughout her career. She was selected as Teacher of the Year for Mission Jr. High and Kenneth White Jr. High. In 1994, she was selected as the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) Regional Teacher of the Year, ATPE State Finalist for Teacher of the Year, and in 1998 she was selected as the TMSCA Number Sense Coach of the Year.
One of her most memorable moments happened when she was coaching UIL Number Sense. She states that she had worked with her students diligently but had failed to sweep any of the competitions. It was a cold morning before a local UIL competition and they had an hour before it was to begin. She and her students huddled in a corner and they started talking about their spiritual upbringing. Mrs. Alaniz started asking them about their spiritual beliefs and encouraged them to give thanks in their own way since the students were from different denominations.
“We must be grateful and thankful to the Lord for the gifts we have been given. We must remain humble and ask him to help you,” she states. “After that, we started sweeping at all the competitions. That was what we were missing. I told my students we had found the right coach, and the right coach was the Lord.”
Her students started taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in Math, Number Sense, and Calculator. They were Class 5A State Champions in Number Sense in 1990, 1996, and 1998, TMSCA Class 5A Jr. High State Number Sense Champions 1987-1988, TMSCA Class 5A Jr. High and High School Grades 6-12 Individual State Champions 1990-1999, as well as many regional and district titles.
Mrs. Alaniz has inspired so many students and educators throughout the years, some have even returned to thank her for believing in them when at times they didn’t even believe in themselves. She has a way of observing, listening, and calculating the best way to teach a student because as she says “not everyone learns in the same way.”
She has touched so many lives, and that, has made a difference to so many in the classroom as well as in life. When you speak to her, she humbly states that, she was redirected by the Lord and she truly found her calling in teaching. She is a firm believer of “Leaving everything to the Lord and he will help you.” Those are words that she lives by every day not only in life but also at work.