When students enter Adrian Sendejas’ classroom, he greets his students with a bright smile and an accompanying fist bump or handshake. They sit wherever they please, tables pushed together in groups as conversations echo off of the classroom walls.

After spending his 13 years in Houston ISD, Sendejas decided to restart at Klein Forest, as an English I KP teacher, because he wanted a shorter commute. Students know it’s going to be a good day in his class when people are “moving around and talking to their friends.”

 “I don’t want my kids to think school has to be a place of being solitary,” Sendejas said. “It should be an experience in which you talk to each other and we all contribute.”

His students participate in collaborative learning where they interact with their peers and present their ideas because Sendejas urges his students to “throw their ideas out” and to speak up about their thoughts.

“When he calls on somebody, I’ll be one of the people to ask to answer [a question] and he hypes you up and gives you points for it,” freshman Ja’Myyah Jones said.“I like a teacher that [can] be there for you.” 

Along with peer interaction, he also incorporates activities that let his students be creative. He said he’d rather let the class be student-run and be the “guide on the side” and not the “sage on the stage.”

“His teaching style makes the class a lot better,” freshman Joseph Martinez said. “It lets me be myself. Since everybody has the same energy, it lets me feel like I belong.”

English skills, in Sendejas’ opinion, are easiest to apply to situations outside the classroom.

“You may not think answering a short-answer response with a specific method translates into the real-world, but when someone asks you a question, it’s good to be thorough, to understand and have evidence to prove your point,” Sendejas said.

Sendejas’ endless positivity and open mindset rubs off on everyone he meets. Freshman Francisco Vasquez Orellana said Sendejas is like a “comforting parent.”

“He teaches us like we’re equals to him and with a lot of respect so it’s something I like a lot about him,” Vasquez said.

Amongst his co-workers, Sendejas is nicknamed “Sugar-Rush” because he brings candy to all his meetings. He also brings a never-ending stream of questions during conferences allowing him to better reach his students and gain new outlooks from his colleagues.

 “I haven’t seen a teacher quite that enthusiastic, in some time, since day one,” English I teacher Kathryn Oderinde said. “He’s given me a new perspective and it’s refreshing. He brings life back into our team.”

Sendejas believes his role is to set his students up for future successes. He strives to make his kids regain their ability to wonder.

“My goal is to help them continue to think critically,” Sendejas said. “To see the endless possibilities of things they can do and to make them good, respectful, citizens of this school.” 

Conversation dies down as lively students realize it’s time to leave their English block period. Wishing they had more time, the freshmen walked out with confidence to tell their own stories.