Jorge Pulleiro’s widowed mother worked 12-hour days as a seamstress and maid in Argentina to ensure that he could get a quality education and learn English. He was bullied in school, but a third-grade teacher changed his life.
“This angelic teacher showed me so much love, and believed in me so much, that in third grade I decided I wanted to be like her,” Pulleiro said.
Indeed, Pulleiro became a teacher, crediting his mother and that “angelic” teacher for helping him find his life’s passion. This year, he was named Idaho State Teacher of the Year for his exemplary work as a Spanish teacher in the dual immersion program at Wood River Middle School in Hailey, Idaho. According to colleagues, Pulleiro is distinguished not only by his students’ academic success, but also by his leadership, his compassion, and his commitment to supporting Latino and Spanish-speaking families throughout the district.
Pulleiro embraces immersion: to learn about food from different cultures, his students share homemade dishes, and to learn about a country’s music, they perform its national dance. He started an exchange program that allows eighth graders to trade places with students in Madrid for three weeks. Recently, Pulleiro accepted a new position as associate principal at Twin Falls High School in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Before teaching in Idaho, Pulleiro worked in Oregon, where he doubled his high school’s Spanish offerings and coordinated foreign exchange programs. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Army, earning recognition from the White House for participating in the Troops to Teachers program.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve this blessed country and to have worn the uniform of the United States Army for six years,” he said in a video honoring Veterans Day. “I love this country, I love the men and women in uniform.”
