Adelante Charter School Teacher from Santa Barbara Earns Statewide Recognition

Erika Ruiz Santillán, a third grade teacher at Adelante Charter School, was named the 2026 Teacher of the Year by the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). The statewide award recognizes Ruiz Santillán for her work as a bilingual educator, her leadership, and her positive impact on students.

“It was such a full circle moment for me, because I started as an English learner myself. I am like my students. I’m a mirror for them,” said Ruiz Santillán, who grew up just three blocks from Adelante on Santa Barbara’s Eastside. The daughter of immigrants from Mexico, she spoke Spanish as a first language and learned English upon attending Franklin Elementary School. 

Ruiz Santillán first became interested in education as a teenager, when her dance instructor took a leave of absence and asked her to teach the children’s Mexican folk dance group while he was away. Coaching a group of young kids and coordinating a busy schedule of Fiesta performances, something clicked into place for Ruiz Santillán. “I saw everything as a puzzle for me to solve. I loved the creativity part and the problem solving and I ended up just really loving to work with children, and that was what kind of started my path into teaching,” she said.

Ruiz Santillán has been teaching since 2009. Her career began at the former César Chávez Charter School, which was then in its final year of operation. The dual-immersion school approved a new charter, switched to a different bilingual education model, and reopened as Adelante Charter School in 2010. Adelante now practices the 90/10 model for dual immersion, meaning kindergartners learn in Spanish 90 percent of the time and English the other 10 percent, no matter what language they speak at home. That ratio gradually approaches 50/50 with each subsequent grade; Ruiz Santillán’s third graders get 70 percent of their education in Spanish. 

“It’s really cool to see the kids get to learn in both languages, and they take pride in their languages and in their cultures. It reminds me every day why this work is so important,” Ruiz Santillán said. “I watch my students, especially those that come from Spanish-speaking homes, take so much pride in keeping their language and their culture. And then the kids that are learning Spanish, they get to be more accepting and more open to everyone.”

Ruiz Santillán attributes much of her success as a teacher to her attention to individual students’ needs — particularly those of her English language learners — as well as belief in her students, consistent encouragement, and hard work.

“I have always had really high expectations for my students, and I think that has been something that my students feel when they come in,” said Ruiz Santillán. “They know that I believe in them and that I know that they can do it and that they’re going to be successful, and therefore they rise to the occasion.”

Ruiz Santillán is also a self-described “team player” who prioritizes collaboration with her colleagues. She serves on the school’s leadership team and mentors new teachers. “I don’t want just my students to succeed, I want the whole school to succeed,” she said. 

“Erika’s honor highlights the passion and commitment our educators bring to students every day,” said Adelante Charter School Executive Director Javier Bolívar. 

Adelante was recently honored with the designation of California Distinguished School. In 2025, it saw student English and mathematics proficiency scores jump up by 13 and 16 percentage points, respectively — a rate of improvement dramatically above the state average. The school is thriving in large part thanks to teachers like Ruiz Santillán, who invest great effort and care into providing students with a supportive, rigorous bilingual education. 

“Bilingual education, for my students, helps them become stronger leaders in their community. They’re able to communicate with more people. They have stronger views of themselves, and they’re more confident,” said Ruiz Santillán. 

“My students get to celebrate themselves and their cultures every day,” she added. “It’s just part of our culture here at school.” 

When Ruiz Santillán received the call that she had won Teacher of the Year, she was with her family; she put the caller, CABE’s CEO, on speakerphone for everyone to hear. The setting was fitting, she said, because her family played a significant role in her journey to become a bilingual educator. She emphasized the particular impact of her mother, who constantly advocated for Ruiz Santillán as she navigated the education system as an English learner.

“I was proud of not just myself, but of my mom and my teachers that I’ve had, and all the teachers that come to mind that have motivated me to be the teacher that I am,” said Ruiz Santillán. “I was proud of myself, proud of my family, and proud of my community.”