Kimberly Ordaz has loved every day of the 27 years she’s taught
some of Gilroy’s youngest minds.
Kimberly Ordaz has loved every day of the 27 years she’s taught some of Gilroy’s youngest minds.
The 24 glowing faces that greet her every day, the clamor of two dozen adoring children competing for her attention and their insatiable appetite for learning makes her job one of most satisfying she can imagine.
“I have quite a cast of characters this year,” said Ordaz, a youthful 53-year-old whose petite frame looked only slightly out of place as she settled into one of the 30 tyke-sized chairs scattered around her colorful classroom at Luigi Aprea Elementary School. “This is the year that I need to teach them to love school. That’s the job of the kindergarten teacher.”
Except for a few years trying her hand at the third grade level, Ordaz hasn’t strayed from kindergarten, a grade she never envisioned herself teaching as a young educator fresh out of college. With a teaching credential in art, Ordaz hoped to share her passion for photography, watercolor and various other media with older students. But with the approval of California’s Proposition 13 limiting property taxation, funding for public school education plummeted and art programs were some of the first to go.
Faced with limited job prospects as an art teacher, Ordaz returned to school and earned her certification as a regular classroom teacher. Gene Sakahara, a beloved retired principal whose local fame extends well beyond the educational community, gave Ordaz her first break as a kindergarten teacher at San Ysidro Elementary School.
“I guess he saw something in me because it really has proved to be my niche,” said Ordaz, who recently received county recognition for a job well done.
“The children are like sponges at this level,” she said. “They absorb and learn so much. Every day is something different. Every day is a new discovery, a new ‘Aha!’ ”
In January, Ordaz’s world changed in an instant. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and a nurse summed up the impact the diagnosis would have on her life in a few frank words.
“Your life will never be the same,” she told Ordaz.
“Cancer,” Ordaz paused, letting the word linger in the air for a moment. “It is a total life changer. It really is. That was a turning point in my life.”
Ordaz missed 61 days of school last school year, and the resulting restlessness was almost too much to bear.
“You never know what you have until it’s gone,” she said.
Three lumpectomies, eight round of chemotherapy, a handful of wigs and a dozen radiation treatments later, Ordaz is looking at a 97 percent cure rate.
The loss of her hair and eyebrows took a little getting used to but they were a welcome option when compared to the alternative.
“Sure it’s not easy to lose your hair,” Ordaz said. “But the other side of the coin is not being cured, so I think I’ll just go with losing my hair. It’s not that big a deal.”
“I’ve never heard her complain,” said Linda Wanslow, a longtime colleague and trusted friend. “I’ve been amazed by her stamina. I’m so impressed by how focused she is.”
Her dedication to her profession and involvement in a staggering array of art-enriching extracurricular projects earned her the recognition of the Santa Clara County Office of Education, which chose her as the top Gilroy teacher of the year. Along with one teacher from each of the districts throughout the county, Ordaz will be honored Wednesday during a ceremony at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell.
“In addition to being fantastic overall, she’s always gone above and beyond,” said Luigi Aprea Principal Rich Rodriguez, who recommended Ordaz for the award. “She really has a heart for kids. You can tell by just walking into her classroom.”
Receiving the news made Ordaz blush, she said.
“You know everybody in every single one of these rooms is working as hard as you are,” she said.
Despite the challenges of the past year, Ordaz is still the same teacher who has shaped the minds of hundreds of Gilroy students for almost three decades. She still sings most of her lessons – “It’s a bit like the Sound of Music in here although I certainly do not have a Julie Andrews voice,” she laughed – and she still thinks it’s a travesty that arts education is the first to go in tough budget times.
“It’s a crime against humanity,” she said of ongoing cuts to arts education. “I got tears in my eyes when I read it. It’s devastating.”
What has changed is the pace at which Ordaz adds items to her growing bucket list.
“The top of my list is to travel the world with my husband,” she said without hesitation. Married 22 years Ordaz and her husband are as much in love as the day they met substitute teaching at Gilroy High School, she said.
“I’m known as Mrs. Ordaz’s husband,” joked Chris Ordaz, a branch manager with the local Coldwell Banker.
Taking more trips with her daughters comes in as a close second, Ordaz said.
A third generation teacher, Ordaz spent her high school years in the Marshall Islands, a string of islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where her parents taught school. After school, she and her friends would check boats out of the local marina and spent hours floating on an ultramarine lagoon. Those years sparked her love for travel.
Taking life in more slowly and finding the time to practice her artwork and teach art classes again round out the top tier of her list.
“It’s time for me to start living some of those dreams,” she said.
