New ELL teacher Rosa Gomes is here for anyone who needs her

The ELL department at ARHS has a friendly, new face this year–Rosa Gomes. She will be teaching ELL Composition (levels 1 and 2),  The classes right now are ELL Composition (Level 2), ELL Literature (Level 2), ELL Communication (Level 2) and ELL Career Prep. Composition focuses on writing and grammar; Literature explores different genres of literature; Communication centers oral speech; and Career Prep is to help students start exploring jobs and continuing education.

“Since I was an English language learner myself, I really enjoy watching my students grasp the different ideas of subjects here,” said Gomes, adding that she hopes they find “a love for learning.”

Gomes was born in Angola, Africa to Cape Verdean parents. She came to New Bedford, Mass. with her parents at the age of three. “I love and am very proud of my heritage and culture,” said Gomes. 

She attended elementary through high school in New Bedford and then came to UMass Amherst for college, where she studied sociology and Spanish there. After her undergraduate studies, she transferred back to New Bedford to work in non-profit organizations. 

Not until many years later did she go back to school for her master’s degree, which she completed at UMass Boston in applied linguistics. Gomes has also had many other jobs before this one, including running a private daycare out of her house and a working parent GED program. “I’ve even spent some time working in construction,” said Gomes. 

After lots of back-and-forth from New Bedford to Amherst, she has finally landed a spot living and working as a teacher in Amherst. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was little. I remember gathering all the kids in my neighborhood and teaching them a lesson as if they were my students,” said Gomes. Her first official teaching experience was in Cambridge, Mass., working as a teaching assistant in a charter school. 

A typical day for Gomes at the high school starts with getting to school a whole hour before the students arrive, since that affords her prep time to ready the curriculum. Gomes has had some trouble getting used to the fact that the curriculum isn’t necessarily made up beforehand. “I’ve had to [develop curriculum to meet the needs of my students], so I set aside extra time for that,” said Gomes. 

She likes that all the teachers and staff are very helpful to her in her new venture. Gomes has an A period, C period, and D period class, while B period is her prep period in the schedule. Her overall mission as a teacher is to “do my best and give students my all in order to further their education,” she said. 

Gomes is most excited about being able to spend time with her 15-year-old son in the same building on a day-to-day basis, as he is a sophomore at the high school. She also lives here in Amherst with him and two other sons, ages 24 and 26, both of whom graduated from ARHS.

 “I like to surround myself with people who have good energy,” said Gomes. She comes from a big family. “My dad has 23 brothers and sisters on his side alone, so I’m surrounded with lots of good people.” 

Some things that Gomes likes to do in her free time are to dance and learn about other people’s culture through food, music, and dance.

Gomes is also a strong believer in not judging someone before you get to know their character. “I have a saying in my country; it goes ‘kada kenha ku de sel’, which is Cape Verdean Creole for ‘to each their own,’” said Gomes. 

And her overall goal as an educator is to let people know that she’s there for her students and any other staff or students at ARHS who need her.