Tate High graduate values family ‘above all else’

IOWA CITY — Leslie Acevedo-Cruz’s teachers call her “a true leader,” “resilient,” “devoted to family,” “funny” and “thoughtful.”

When Acevedo-Cruz, now 17, began high school online after the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she said she felt “very alone.” She struggled with motivation to attend class virtually and complete her schoolwork. At the end of her sophomore year, she was failing all her classes.

A school counselor recommended Acevedo-Cruz transfer to Tate High School, the alternative school in the Iowa City Community School District. She went from failing to earning A’s in all her classes.

“My parents told me before I started that I had to work really hard, but that they knew I could do it. They wished me good luck on my first day and every day ever since,” Acevedo-Cruz said.

Acevedo-Cruz was one of 100 students to graduate Saturday from Tate High School.

At Tate, Acevedo-Cruz got involved in the school’s Educators Rising program, which supports student interest in teaching careers. Students in the program get to visit elementary schools where they observe and lend a hand to teachers in math, science, music, art and special education classes.

“When we would go into those elementary schools, Leslie would light up and engage with the kids. She was very comfortable there,” said her teacher and Educators Rising sponsor, Michelle Curry. “I’ve seen her grow from this person who was really shy and didn’t want to step outside her comfort zone to be truly a leader.”

Acevedo-Cruz was one of six students invited by the school district to attend the 2024 Educators Rising National Conference in Washington, D.C., in July. It will be her first time on an airplane.

“She’s a great kid, and she deserves this opportunity,” Curry said.

Even with her interest in teaching, Acevedo-Cruz plans to study accounting and business this fall at Kirkwood Community College. She wants to use her degree to help her dad with his company, IA Drywall.

As a capstone project this year, Acevedo-Cruz did a 35-page project on her family tree, researching her ancestry and interviewing her family about what it was like to immigrate from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the United States, said teacher Michael McDonald.

“That’s one thing that really shows who Leslie is,” McDonald said. “She values family and community above everything else. It’s what she lives and breathes by and is willing to put in any amount of work in an effort to make sure the people around her are lifted up and taken care of.”

McDonald said she sees Acevedo-Cruz show that love for people around Tate High, too. “Leslie does this thing where she has the ability to make everyone feel special. When she sees me, she screams out ”Mrs. McDonald!’ She has something different with each one of our teachers.

“That’s why I know she’d make a great teacher,” McDonald said. “She has an individual relationship with each person she connects to and homes in on what makes them happiest. I’m going to miss Leslie lighting up our hallways. She gets everyone moving in a very positive way, and I love that about her.”

Curry hopes that Acevedo-Cruz can blend her two passions for math and teaching someday. Recently, Curry took her to Iowa City High School to observe a business class because Curry thought it might be of interest to her.

“I think teaching gets you eventually if you’re meant to do it,” Curry said. “I was 38 when I decided to be a teacher when I grew up.”

Whether Acevedo-Cruz becomes a teacher or not, Curry said, “she’s going to fly, and I really hope she knows how great she is.”

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