LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Cynthia Delgado was nominated anonymously. 

Ms. Delgado creates a positive classroom environment by establishing clear expectations, building strong relationships with students, and fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity.

She encourages active participation, recognizes students' efforts, and provides a safe space where they feel comfortable asking questions and taking academic risks. By maintaining consistent routines and using positive reinforcement, she helps students feel supported, engaged, and motivated to learn.

As a Functional Life Skills (FLS) teacher, her students rely heavily on visual supports to understand concepts, follow routines, and communicate effectively. She works to improve their communication skills, increase their independence in daily routines, better understand classroom expectations, and engage more successfully in academic and functional learning activities. She is responsible for teaching her students grade-level TEKS and developing lessons from there.

Ms. Delgado leads cooking activities at the end of every book they read. She is a firm believer that every child has the ability to become a more productive member of society by helping them find their true potential and build from that.

She loves to showcase her students and what they can do. Ms. Delgado does a lot of arts and crafts with her students to help them be creative and build skills and confidence. From all their creations, she submits their best work to art contests hosted by South West Texas College in which they get awards, and represent the school. She loves to see the reactions of the families. She shares videos of each child doing their own work with their families.

Ms. Delgado also created a Superstar night at the Zavala County Live Stock Show, where children living with special needs can get the experience of showing an animal of their choice. One year, a student wanted to show a steer, and she made shirts for all participants. The show joined forces with members of the Thirsty Cactus Ranch to have A Day At The Ra, where all students came to enjoy the day as a family, play games, win prizes, and feed and pet the animals.