Gennezaret Lechuga

Meet East’s new environmental science teacher

Gennezaret+Lechuga

Jayla Drew

A familiar face has graced the East High community with her presence again, but this time as a teacher. You may have known her from her time at East, or from her sister Galilea Lechuga, the senior class president. Meet Gennezaret Lechuga, East’s new environmental science and learning transitions teacher.
Gennezaret Lechuga is an East High Alumni from the class of 2017. After she graduated from East, she went to DMACC for two years to complete a liberal arts program. She then transferred to Grandview and spent two years there to complete her teaching program and graduated this year. Gennezaret Lechuga student taught at Johnston High School this past January and at Callanan Middle School. Although she enjoyed the middle school experience, she knew she wanted to work with older kids. And what better place to teach than her alma mater.
During her time at East, Gennezaret Lechuga recalled that there weren’t as many clubs and activities at East as there are now. She recognized groups such as the GSA, the anime clubs, and how she would’ve loved for those to be around during her time. She is sponsoring the K-pop club at East. When asked about improvements she wanted to bring to East, Gennezaret Lechuga said that she wanted to bring in more resources to students for their social emotional health. This can include daily checkups on how students are doing in school and in their personal life.
“That’s rewarding for me, when they tell me ‘Okay I want to learn this’ and so I want to implement that in my classroom,” Gennezaret Lechuga said.
Gennezaret Lechuga really wants to focus on getting to know her students and building a bond. Something that Mr. Spaine, Gennezaret Lechuga’s teacher during her time at East mentioned he wants her to prioritize. When asked about advice he wanted to give Gennezaret Lechuga for her teaching career, Spaine said,
“Try to build relationships with your students, try to understand them,” Spaine also mentioned that he wants her to not take teaching personal.
“Don’t take things too personal in the classroom, because if you do, you find yourself going in the wrong direction,” Spaine said.
Spaine even touched on Gennezaret Lechuga’s sister Galilea Lechuga, East’s senior class president, and how she was just a little girl when she would sit in on her big sister’s parent teacher conferences with Spaine. And how he can’t believe she’s a senior and the senior class president. Galilea Lechuga has always wanted to be at the same school as her sister. “I’ve always wanted that, because me and my sister are six years apart…It’s my dream to finally be with my sister at school,” Galilea Lechuga said.
Now that you’ve gotten to know more about Gennezaret Lechuga, her background, her time at East, and some kind words and advice from friends and family. You can find her in room 4001M.