Magali Cortes is a first grade general education teacher at Solar Preparatory School for Girls. Ms. Cortes discovered her passion for teaching as a sophomore at the University of California Irvine while working for Jumpstart, a program focused on providing high-quality educational opportunities to all young children in under-resourced communities. As a senior, she made the decision to pursue a career in education and applied at the Johns Hopkins School of Education to earn a master’s degree.

In 2016, immediately following her graduation at UCI, Ms. Cortes relocated to Dallas, TX, where she began her graduate studies. That summer, she also joined DISD as a student teacher at Jose “Joe” May Elementary School. She worked alongside experienced teachers and received extensive one-on-one coaching, which helped develop her knowledge for teaching. 

The following year, new challenges and goals emerged. Ms. Cortes was granted the opportunity to work at Solar Preparatory School for Girls where her career as a teacher blossomed. She has now graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Science in Education and is very excited to begin her third year at Solar Prep!