Aimee Verapinto, one of UPA’s new Spanish teachers, teaches Spanish 2 and Spanish Immersion.

Although she grew up in the Bay Area, she received her undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon. Upon returning to the Bay Area, she obtained her master’s degree at Santa Clara University.

Before teaching at UPA, Verapinto taught at Willow Glen High School, and prior to her time at Willow Glen High School, she taught at Voices, an elementary charter school.

In her free time, Verapinto loves dancing of all different kinds, including Latin dancing, and she almost even minored in African dance.

​Outside of school, she cooks multiple cuisines, among them, Peruvian food.

“We’re so spoiled in the Bay Area… the whole world is here,” Verapinto said. “So I’ll go to a restaurant and try something, and then I’m like ‘Oh, I want to go home and try to make that for myself.’”

She said she became a teacher because “We have an amazing future in our children, and I think that they need to be guided in a really positive direction, and have support and people who are passionate about the content and passionate about them and their potential.”

She loves the Spanish language and she has studied Spanish since seventh grade.

Verapinto works hard to keep her students engaged and motivated in class while building a positive rapport with them at the same time.

She keeps her class interactive and dynamic through videos, music and games.

For her, the most rewarding part of teaching is when students say “I get it” and can provide her with evidence that they do, indeed, understand it.

So far, there are several aspects of UPA that Verapinto loves.
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“I love the diversity, I love the student motivation [and] I love the commitment, and drive, and integrity, and respect. I like that it’s smaller,” she said.