Supported by nearly 40 years of eminent experience within the field of education, Michael A. Cervantes most recently served as a second grade teacher for the El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, California, from 2005 until his retirement in 2010. Joining the El Rancho Unified School District in 1979, he served the school district in myriad capacities. During his tenure there, he was a kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade and fifth grade teacher, as well as chairman of the school district and a teacher of Spanish as a second language through the Gifted and Talented Education Program. Post-retirement, Mr. Cervantes has excelled as a member of the planning task force for the school district since 1990.
Alongside his primary vocational endeavors, Mr. Cervantes has also been a representative of elementary schools for the Strategic Planning Task Force since 1991 and is a past principal judge of the Computer Contest at South Ranchito Elementary School from 1985 to 1992. Additionally, he excelled as chairman of the language arts component, secretary for school-wide effectiveness, chairman of the essay, literacy and leadership committees, and union representative of the Phase II Budget Committee. Notably, in 1996, he established California State University’s New World Scholarship, having subsequently lent his expertise to the Renaissance Man/Woman Scholarship, the Leader Scholarship and the Community Service Scholarship.
As a testament to his success, Mr. Cervantes received the San Gabriel Mission High School Alumni Recognition Award in 2019 and was recognized by the Chicano/Latino Department’s spring 2019 newsletter under their “Alumni Profile.” He is also especially proud of developing the bilingual/bi-cultural program for the El Rancho Unified School District, where he worked with young students who were learning English as a second language. While there, he advocated for a change in the grading system that would allow English-learning students a different method of grading compared to English-speaking students based upon their proficiency in learning English as a second language.
Currently, Mr. Cervantes is vice president and member of the negotiation team for elementary issues for the El Rancho Federation of Teachers, as well as a member of the alumni association scholarship committee of California State University, Los Angeles. He is a certified elementary teacher and bilingual specialist in the State of California.
