Coming Full Circle: Take Five with Arnulfo Arevalo

Take Five is a series that highlights members of the CPS community who are going above and beyond for our students. All throughout the 2024–25 school year, we will be spotlighting our amazing CPS teachers! If you know a teacher who is making a difference, nominate them to be featured here.

Meet Mr. Arnulfo Arevalo, a fifth-grade math and science teacher at Schubert Elementary School in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin community. A Schubert graduate himself, Mr. Arevalo is known for being a caring, encouraging teacher who has high expectations for his students. In addition to his regular teaching responsibilities, Mr. Arevalo also serves as a soccer coach, and is part of the school’s Instructional Leadership Team.

Mr. Arevalo started his career in the finance world, but he quickly realized that he didn’t like sitting in an office in front of a computer all day. One day, a Chicago Public Schools recruiter reached out to him, and Mr. Arevalo’s love of math, combined with the inspiration he felt watching his mom run a daycare out of their home while he was growing up, drove him to make a career change.

“Mr. Arevalo goes above and beyond for our students and believes in our community,” says Schubert principal Claudia Guerrero. “As a former student from our very own school, he is truly homegrown, and is making a big impact in our math and science department!”

Learn more about Mr. Arevalo below!

What do you love most about your work?

I love the community, both in my classroom and the larger school community. I attended Schubert myself, and I’ve been in the Belmont Cragin community my whole life. My students are like younger versions of myself, and it’s great to be able to come here every day and teach them, whether it’s a math or science unit or a life lesson. It’s so rewarding to be able to build a community with my students every year. Saying goodbye at the end of the year is so tough!

What kind of environment do you like to create in your classroom?

I make sure to get to know students and check in with them as much as I can. We do morning meetings every day, and starting from that kind of caring place also helps them succeed academically. Learning more about social-emotional learning made so much sense to me, and I want them to understand that it’s okay to make mistakes. I’m a big baseball fan, and something the players always say is that if they lose their confidence, they can’t hit the ball anymore. I think that’s true for school too, so I always try to motivate my students and keep their confidence up.

What are your biggest goals for your students?

Technology is a huge part of our lives, so I want to help my students learn how to use it responsibly. Another goal is to give them the tools they need to be independent learners—they’ll take those critical thinking skills with them to middle school, high school, and beyond. I also want my students to leave my class with more confidence.

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?

Before I started teaching, I couldn't talk in front of people. Public speaking was my biggest fear. The first time I had to lead a lesson while student teaching, it was a surprise, and I didn’t have time to prepare. I totally bombed it. But I’ll never forget that right after class, one of my students came up to me and told me, “don’t worry, it’s okay!” Now, of course, getting in front of the class is second nature. But I always tell my students: “Look, when I started, I had a hard time even getting up in front of the class and talking.” I like telling my students that because it helps them understand that we’re all human, and we’re all going to make mistakes, but if we learn and practice, it will get better.

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

I love sports, and I’ve been a big boxing fan all my life! I especially like watching boxing with my dad—that’s been our thing since I was a kid.