Longtime science teacher Ms. Suarez to depart CATS

By Christopher M.

Ms. Michelle Suarez, long time science teacher, plans to make her exit from teaching at the end of this school year. She was at CATS for nine years.

It was personal loss that led to her decision.

“So I’m leaving because, after I lost both of my parents in such a short amount of time last year, I realized that I just need a moment to pause and think about what makes me happy and what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

She added, “kinda taking a break to gather my thoughts and travel and make art and make music and just see if my trajectory changes or maybe something becomes more clear about what my service is.”

Her departure is impacting those around her, especially with her fellow science teacher and closest friend Ms. Sanchez.

Ms. Sanchez bids farewell saying, “I’m also very grateful and very happy she is moving on to things she wants to do, that she wants to continue in her life and I know we will still talk outside of work. I’m just grateful that I got to meet her.”

Ms. Sanchez said that Ms. Suarez leaving feels like her support system is leaving because she started as her assistant and when she became a teacher, Ms. Suarez still supported her. 

“It’s sad, I’ve been crying so much about this,” she said.

Ms. Sanchez shared how impactful she is to her and to other educators around.

“She’s always willing to support students and teachers and anyone who needs help, and that is such an important quality to have if you’re working in education,” she said.

“By working with her I learned a lot about compassion. I learned a lot about looking at someone as a person rather than just a number and a score.”

Ms. Sanchez believes that Ms. Suarez left an important legacy.

“We’re going to try to continue with her legacy, continue with her passion for students, to support students, to support teachers, you know, and just her love for science, ” she said. “So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Students are also saddened but grateful that Ms. Suarez wants to pursue something different and shared how great of a teacher she was.

Senior Josue R. said, “She was a really forgiving teacher, like she would give you a lot of opportunities to pick up your grades even if she had her own issues.”

He said she was well-respected by many students, “and she would always try to give her best even in her lowest moments.”

He said that an important characteristic of hers is that she had a special energy and that was clear in the experiments and projects they did in class.

“I think most of the activities that we did with her wouldn’t be the same or it would be completely different,” he said.

Ms. Suarez shared some parting wisdom.

“If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not right so you just have to find what feels right. If something is scary you have to take that step forward and be scared and it’s okay,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid of failing or messing up, you just have to try things.”