Hello, Lopez Lazers. My name is Danny Zuniga Torres (Pronouns: he/him/his/el), and I am the Integrated Learning Support (ILS) Teacher for Lopez Elementary School. Growing up in Fort Collins, I attended Irish Bilingual Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Poudre High School. I am a native bilingual speaker of English and Spanish.
I started my educational journey at Front Range Community College and graduated with an Associate of General Studies (AGS). I then transferred to Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU-D) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW). Then, I completed a Master of Arts (MA) in Special Education (K-12 Generalist) and a Graduate Certificate in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education (K-12 TESOL) at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). I am currently pursuing a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
I previously held the position of Family Liaison and Graduation Advocate at Poudre High School, where I focused on working with students who qualify for McKinney-Vento, Migrant, or Foster Education support and services. I focused on working with families who recently arrived in the U.S. from another country. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with students from Early Childhood Education (ECE) to High School age. I am entering my 8th year working across multiple areas of education in the Poudre School District.
- Reading
- Traveling
- Nature/Outdoor Activities
- New and Diverse Foods
- Concerts and Music Festivals
My teaching philosophy uses a trauma-informed and equity-centered lens to create a student, family, school, and community partnership. This collaboration helps students and families, who recently arrived from another country and have limited English language abilities, to navigate and stay informed with their local educational agency. As the ILS teacher this looks like supporting our students with diverse needs and abilities to navigate their lives as independently as possible using a strength-based and student-centered approach. My priorities are safety, diversity, and inclusion.