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Philip Madrid

8th Grade Mathematics Teacher
MS Academics
Las Vegas, New Mexico

I have my Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, with an education minor in English.  I also have a Master’s in counseling.  My teaching license is for K – 12 in Mathematics and English, and I also have administrative certification.  All my degrees are from New Mexico Highlands University.  For 30 years, I worked in the public schools. I started in Cuba, and then taught at Robertson High School in Las Vegas for 14 years.  In addition, I’ve taught at Springer Boys School, at Bernalillo, and at Wagon Mound.  I’ve always taught math, mainly high school, but for the past five years I’ve also taught mid school, in Wagon Mound and here. My favorite subjects to teach are algebra and geometry: Algebra because it is transition from concrete to abstract; Geometry I enjoy because of the different drawings and content.

Education runs in my family; my mom was a teacher for 45 years, and I have two sisters who are retired teachers.  I had a lot of past experience working with Native students in Cuba and Bernalillo.  I also worked with the Upward Bound program at Highlands, which exposes minority high school students to college life.  I’ve also had the challenge of working with students in corrections.

At SFIS I’m the 8^th grade mathematics teacher, and I’m here to help students learn math by having them show all the steps in solving a problem, rather than simply writing down an answer.  I came to SFIS because the school is very progressive in all areas – such as technology, working together as a math team, and looking at different perspectives from the administration and other teachers.  We have a lot of highly qualified individuals that share their talents. 

I think that the core values at SFIS are very important, and practicing them in and out of the classroom is essential.  I don’t see enough of this type of thing being done in the public schools. The most important core values are respect and giving back to the students and community.  I think those are the key to success, along with discipline – not only in academics but in life.  These values drive you as an individual. 

My passion and true calling is family; we are very family oriented.  Other than that, it’s hard to pinpoint any one thing.  I enjoy nature and I enjoy seeing students succeed in general in life – especially when they come back and say, “Thank you for what you’ve done for me.”  I enjoy the mountains, hunting, sports and ranching.  You forget all about stress, and what you experience is dictated by nature and the weather, not by anything else.