Lili Reeves, Madison High School
AVID Teacher
When Lili Reeves says she watched her students “eyes roll and their chests heave with sighs” during one of her lessons as a rookie teacher, educators can picture their own classroom on a day when their eighth graders, second graders or any-graders just weren’t in a mood to learn.

But Lili was referring to the boredom of fellow teachers -- the first time she taught a professional development workshop.

“Another rookie English teacher spouting advice on how to improve classroom instruction,” she said. “Out came the newspapers, crossword puzzles and papers to grade.”

She continued with her lesson -- which some called the “flavor of the month” -- though only a few in the audience were tuned in.

That was 10 years ago. Today, she’s still extolling the virtues of a different way of teaching, as well as trying to boost her profession, which she believes has been battered and bullied by politicians and the public in recent years.

“It is only through a reflective examination of one’s own practice that growth can occur,” she says. “That reflection calls for honesty and depth.”

And having this open discussion isn’t any easier today than it was a decade ago for that new teacher to talk about the “flavor of the month.”

“Encouraging other professionals in this process is a challenge because it requires an admission that we could do better,” she said, “which to some implies that we are not already doing our best.”

Sit down for five minutes with Lili Reeves and you’ll hear about the teaching profession… but also about teaching. Her classroom is her world and she considers herself lucky to have become an AVID teacher at her high school alma mater, Madison High.

“The AVID class provided a structure for me to explore my role as a teacher of content and strategy, as well as mentor and advisor,” she says. “I was home.”

Typical for a teacher, her “home” is pretty crowded. There’s three AVID classes, a Saturday SAT prep class, an English-learner CAHSEE Support Class, mentoring Senior Advisory teachers and participating in a Mesa College “think tank” on the link between high school and community colleges.

And, according to Carol Sobek, Madison’s head counselor, Lili still had the time to make a house call to a student. Well, not exactly a house call, as the student lived with her disabled grandmother in a motel room on El Cajon Boulevard. Lili helped this student through the Saturday SAT prep class and three AP Courses, all while the student was working to cover her own living expenses. The student will enter a four-year college next fall. Lili Reeves extends this personal approach to teaching to every student that enters her classroom.

Lili earned her both her B.A. in Journalism and Teaching Credential from San Diego State University.