Passaic High School Teacher Helps Students Reach New Heights: Spotlight on Sergio Martinez

Sergio Martinez has a passion for sharing his love of learning with his students.

After graduating from Harvard University with a B.S. in Biology, Sergio’s early career included work at various hospitals as an HIV researcher, medical scribe and emergency medical technician. Because he felt particularly drawn to the teaching elements of these jobs, he decided to join Teach for America for two years as a science teacher.  Then, in 2016 he completed the NJCTL endorsement program in physics and began teaching at Passaic High School, a school with over 3,000 predominantly Latino students, many from underserved backgrounds.

As Sergio has continued to build his teaching skills over the past few years, one aspect of using NJCTL’s Progressive Science Initiative® (PSI®) that he has found most inspiring is how he can help his students gain confidence in their own abilities over time.  He finds that many of his students come to understand that mastery of STEM skills are achievable for everyone through step-by-step work -- and that his students also come to provide encouragement and support for each other as they achieve new heights. Find out what Sergio thinks about peer-to-peer teaching, Back to the Future, and academic risk-taking by clicking here.