After over 30 years of teaching everywhere from Mexico to Oregon, to right here at North, English 9 co-teacher and multilingual level one teacher Susana “Suzie” Galindo is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 school year. Although this is only her second year at North, she has already made a huge impact on her students and formed friendships with her teacher colleagues.
“In general, all the staff at North are very welcoming and supportive. There was not one single day that I wouldn’t receive a smile or a friendly greeting from them,” Galindo said.
Galindo has had a diverse career, working in Mexico at a bilingual school that was mostly English. She also taught in Salem, Oregon as a teacher assistant before moving closer to North and working in Indiana and Illinois. She spent 15 years at East before coming to North, where she decided to finish her teaching career.
“Working at North has been a wonderful experience. And what makes it wonderful [are] the people I work with and the students that appreciate and value their education,” said Galindo.
She loves teaching multilingual level one learners, students who know the least amount of English. She helps them communicate with others, which improves their skills in school.
“It’s very rewarding when you see them excel in the classroom, and I think [it] fills you with that satisfaction … to see them grow and learn,” Galindo said.
After retiring, she plans to move to Texas to live closer to her sons. However, she will miss the students and staff here because of the friendly environment and the memories she made with her co-teachers. Galindo has many people she wants to thank for her time at North, including the English teachers, Principal Shanna Lewis and LRC Technology Support Coach Tanis Simoncelli.
“As my time has come to say goodbye, I will assure you that I will always keep all of you — staff, parents and students — in a special place in my heart. Thanks for all the help and wonderful time I received from such amazing people,” said Galindo.
