Skip to content

Lanier MS teacher seeks to eliminate ‘math intimidation’

2013 December 12
by HISD Communications

Michael Bordelon

Michael Bordelon has been a sixth-grade math teacher at Lanier Middle School since 1988, but even after 25 years, he says his favorite aspect of the job also happens to be the goal he aims for with every new group of kids.

“The best part is right now,” he said. “At this time of the year, I can throw whatever I want at them, and they’re not afraid of it. They won’t just sit there with their hands down or say they’ve never seen that type of problem before. There’s no more intimidation. They’ll just try it.”

After a quarter of a century, Bordelon has now reached the point where he’s starting to welcome the children of his former students into his classroom. “It’s funny when the parents come in,” he said. “We’ll be having a conference and one of them will complain about how much their son or daughter is talking in class, and I’ll say, ‘Yeah. They’re just like you were.’ And we’ll all laugh about it.”

Bordelon officially marked his 25th anniversary with the district on Dec. 12, but several other employees are also marking theirs this week (Dec. 8–14). See if you know anyone on this list:

35 years

  •  Joyce Hobbs, teacher, Vision Programs

25 years

  • Mary Garza, plant operator, Construction & Facility Services
  • Diana Martinez, secretary, Multilingual/Special Programs    
  • Eva Soto, custodian, Construction & Facility Services

20 years

  • San Juanita Alanis, custodian, Construction & Facility Services     
  • Kenneth Clayborne, teaching assistant, Garden Oaks ES    
  • Nicole Newton, teacher, Dogan ES 
  • Melissa Robinson, clerk, Foerster ES

15 years

  • Carrie Briley, associate teacher  
  • Arthur Charles, crossing guard, The Rice School       
  • Ana Goussen, attendant, Food Services          
  • Cynthia Nwosa, teacher, Bonham ES   
  • Michael Okeke, associate teacher          
  • Alicia Salisbury, teacher, Barrick ES      
  • Christina Shank, teacher, Harvard ES  
  • Kay Woods, teaching assistant, Lee HS

10 years

  • Melodye Barnes, teacher, HSPVA        
  • Maricel Guerra, secretary, Athletics        
  • Lena Henton, teacher, Ashford ES        
  • Damion Hopkins, teacher, Bellaire HS  
  • Diana Martinez, teacher, Janowski ES  
  • Manuel Montemayor, maintenance repairer, Construction & Facility Services     
  • Leonard Preston, teacher, Reagan HS 
  • Jairo Restrepo, teaching assistant, C. Martinez ES    
  • Lydia Spaulding, teaching assistant, T. H. Rogers MS      

5 years

  • Deborah Brand, teacher, Isaacs ES       
  • Wanesa Burton, teaching assistant, Hogg MS
  • Elisa Cardenas, associate teacher          
  • Derrick Estes, teacher, Cornelius ES     
  • Awilda Irizarry, associate teacher
  • Tereasa Jabbour, teacher, Port Houston ES    
  • Tashiba McKnight-Holt, bus driver, Transportation Services 
  • Faye McNeil, principal, Montgomery ES
  • Alicia Mendez, data entry clerk, JJAEP 
  • Alma Vela Montelongo, clerk, Food Services   
  • Estela Romero, clerk, Chávez HS          
  • Natasha Rutherford, teacher, Ortiz MS  
  • Samantha Sanders, bus driver, Transportation Services
  • Shirley Shelvin, teaching assistant, Cunningham ES
  • Jacqueline Snowden, senior secretary, Strategic Partnerships
  • Patricia Sambula, teacher, Cunningham ES   
  • Willie White, custodian, Construction & Facility Services
  • Cynthia Williams-Kelly, accountant, Finance  
Check back next Friday for more December Milestones. Leave a comment below if you’d like to congratulate any of the above employees.
One Response leave one →
  1. Divya Shukla permalink
    December 21, 2015

    Mr.Bordelon is the best teacher at Lanier MS

Leave a Reply

Note: You can use basic XHTML in your comments. Your email address will never be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS