Coppell High School Spanish teacher Emily Holmes started her first year at Abilene Christian University with no idea what her future career path would look like. Starting as a psychology major without a clear plan of what she would do once she had her degree, she soon discovered her passion for Spanish.

“I first started taking Spanish in high school,” Holmes said. “It was something that I really liked, enjoyed and was good at. My sophomore year of college I studied abroad in South America and that’s where that passion came from. When I came back from that I changed my major to pursue Spanish.”

Holmes earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in education – so she could teach – and a minor in psychology since she had the credits. She later got her master’s degree in bilingual education at Southern Methodist University. Holmes has been teaching Spanish for 18 years, and 13 of those years have been at CHS. Having taught Spanish for so many years, she’s learned a lot throughout her career.

“My approach and my philosophy about teaching now is completely different than it was when I started,” Holmes said. “When I started it was ‘I love Spanish. Everyone should love Spanish,’ and all I cared about was pushing Spanish, where I’ve learned that it’s not all about Spanish.”

She now takes a different approach in teaching Spanish, especially the earlier classes such as Spanish I and Spanish II since most students take those classes because of graduation requirements opposed to actual curiosity.

“A lot of the beginning levels like Spanish I and Spanish II, especially the on-level classes that aren’t honors, are just about exposure,” Holmes said. “And introducing kids to the language and what it is versus trying to push them towards fluency or demand that they master every single thing. I’d rather take it slow and not cover as many concepts. Especially since it’s something I’m passionate about, I’d rather do that and not completely turn them off.”

Her experience and other qualities have led to her colleagues finding Holmes easy and fun to work with.

“She’s very welcoming, and it was something I really appreciated because everything was new,” CHS Spanish teacher Jade de Rios said. “She’s very sweet, very friendly and her door is open all the time if I have any kind of question because everything was new for me this year. She’s a great colleague to have in the team and we are sharing. We’re on the same page, and we have the same dynamic, so I appreciate having her as a friend as a colleague.”

Holmes teaches IB Spanish classes and therefore works with her classroom next-door neighbor CHS French teacher Michael Egan to improve learning in both of their classrooms.

“It’s very easy [to work with her],” Egan said. “She has materials that I like to use and modify. Same thing, I’ll give her activities. There’s a subtle nod, like, I respect the quality of work you have and I definitely want to use it in my classroom. I can always count on her to help me out. She’s a very calm, organized and very structured person. I’ve seen her take the time to plan out nine to 12 weeks in advance. You can see that in just the efficiency of her teaching in the classroom.”

Her colleagues are not the only people with a high opinion of Holmes and her teaching skills. Her students feel comfortable and ready to learn when in her class.

“She’s a fun teacher, and she’s very open,” CHS senior IB Spanish student Shraavya Pydisetti said. “It’s easier to talk about things with her than another teacher since she’s more open to our opinions and our ideas. She has discussions with us, not just about Spanish, but just life in general. She’s a little bit strict as a teacher, but in a way that’s good because it prepares you. She’s very understanding.”

Holmes works hard to make that connection with her students. In her years teaching, she has found balance between challenging her students to learn more and not pushing them away from getting the help they need.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Coppell High School Spanish teacher Emily Holmes has a wall covered in postcards from various places she has traveled. Holmes was selected as The Sidekick’s Volume 34 Issue 5 Teacher of the Issue.

“I have high standards for my kids and their work, but I’m also willing to work with them and give them extra chances to fix things or make things better to reach that standard that I set for them,” Holmes said. “I try to be easy for them to relate to and talk to and kind of have fun with the stuff we do in class, but I think at the same time they know that I have high expectations for them. I’ve also learned over the years that speaking 100% Spanish sometimes does more harm than good because it makes it really hard to be able to connect with the kids and have a relationship with them because then they’re afraid to talk to me.” 

After a day of teaching her students, Holmes goes home to her wife, three daughters and four dogs. Between teaching and spending time with her children and pets, Holmes does not have much time for herself but enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles as a de-stressor. As her daughters have grown older, they have become what inspires her to become a better teacher.

“My kids at home [inspire me] more than anything because we’ve come into teenage years with them, and one of them will be [at CHS] next year,” Holmes said. “When I look at the kids in my classroom, I see my kids and [think], ‘what kind of teacher would I want them to have?’ That’s what I strive for.”

At the end of the day, Holmes does not simply want her students to learn Spanish in her classes but to learn and grow as people.

“We all come from different places, we may look different but at the end of the day, we’re all human,” Holmes said. “We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we kind of learn from that and then work to be better than we were the day before.”

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