The bell rings, students file in, will the lessons be about American history or the human psyche? Class starts and as Ms. Jennifer Puente stands at the front of the room, you know that whatever you’ll learn, you’ll have fun doing it. 

Puente has been teaching at Ayala for over 30 years, and throughout her time here, she has had the privilege of seeing all three of her children go to high school at Ayala. Ayala truly has had a lasting impact on Puente’s life and time as she teaches US History and AP Psychology.

Puente’s journey to becoming a teacher didn’t always start out with a traditional passion for teaching, however. For Puente, it wasn’t a career she ever thought about pursuing because of the history behind it.

“That was the last thing in the world that I ever wanted to be because everyone in my family teaches and I was not gonna fall in line with the family pattern,” Puente said. “But I liked being in front of people and this is what I’m meant to do, so I went back and got my teaching credentials.”

After starting out in the teaching business, Puente soon realized that teaching history and psychology was something that she could enjoy doing. Yet it wasn’t the subjects themselves that enticed her to continue teaching, it was the students.

Puente’s bubbly personality and love for teaching captured not only the attention but the hearts of students. For students Brooke Schwarz (12) and Madison Sholtis (12), who had the privilege of being part of her AP Psychology class, they remember the fondest memories of the impact Puente had on them.

“Every time I walked into my third period, I did not feel like I was walking into a school classroom,” Sholtis said. “Walking through that door felt more like walking through a portal into a stress-free and cozy living room.”

The best kind of classrooms are ones that students can feel comfortable walking into, a place where they feel excited to learn the material and not just get the grades, and that to them, is Puente’s classroom.

“Ms. Puente is truly the kind of teacher who lights up any room she enters,” Schwarz said. “Her energy and enthusiasm genuinely inspire us to engage more and feel comfortable in her presence.”

In terms of teaching, Puente loves to engage students in a style of learning that benefits the student, and this results in a style that is not only fun for Puente to teach, but fun for students to learn.

“If I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, then there’s no way the students can, and if I’m just standing up lecturing period after period, that gets old really fast,” Puente said. “So I try to have students be a little bit more active, because I think it makes it more meaningful. It sticks with them and it just makes classes a positive place to come to.”

Oftentimes, Puente teaches her lessons, whether that be in the realm of history or psychology, with hands-on experiments and ways that students would get and have fun doing. 

“My favorite memory was the sleep lab we had the opportunity to do,” Sholtis said. “We were studying how important sleep cycles and circadian rhythms were to our mental health, so for one class period, she let us bring in our pjs, stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets and we all got to take a nap for the whole entire period.”

As a teacher, Puente creates an environment where students feel engaged and comfortable. To make school less boring, Puente also decorates her classroom for the holidays and lets her students participate in making decorations to hang up in the classroom. This engagement is a fun way to include students in life outside of the classroom.

With stories about life that relate to the lessons she teaches, Puente opens up several avenues where students can learn in many different ways than just their textbooks, which students have responded to positively.

“Her positive energy and supportive teaching style have not only helped me succeed academically but have also taught me the importance of bringing enthusiasm and kindness into everything I do,” Schwarz said.

Puente realizes that being a teacher isn’t just standing up at the front of the class and speaking for the majority of the hour to get what needs to be done, but that being a teacher is a way for her to help students grow in the best way possible.

“I just want students to know that I cared about them and that they felt comfortable and safe,”  Puente said. “That in 10-20 years from now, they will look back on their time with me, and have a positive memory.”