Fall 2024

Alicia Galvan-Flores

Lead Educator

Georgetown Law Early Learning Center

Alicia Galvan-Flores is proud to be an early educator. But she's not just an early educator. She is also a storyteller.

“I cannot be in the classroom without [using] a voice when I am reading [or using] my body when I am dancing,” said Galvan-Flores. “Children can connect [with] what they know, what they can feel, and what they can see. [If I’m] going to talk about feelings I’m going to make a voice and [I’m] going to [make] my face [so] that they can immediately connect what I am saying.”

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Galvan-Flores became a storyteller and educator 29 years ago in her native Mexico after taking a special program on using storytelling to teach children about Mexican history. Growing up she loved reading and how it allowed her to pretend to be someone else. This made storytelling a natural fit, but it was a desire to be more social that really drew her to the craft.

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“[Storytelling] was the bridge to bring more people to my world,” said Galvan-Flores. “To have more friends.”

Galvan-Flores sought out a way to bring more people into her world after deciding she wanted to be less introverted. Her introversion came from challenges she faced in her childhood from being dyslexic. 

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According to the Mayo Clinic, “dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called a reading disability, dyslexia is a result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language.”

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During her childhood in Mexico dyslexia wasn’t understood the way it is now. This resulted in Galvan-Flores not receiving the support she needed. In fact, she received quite the opposite.

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“I really feel like some of my teachers were really bullies to me,” said Galvan-Flores. “I [used to say] ‘Well, I don’t want to go to school.’” 

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After years of experience with dyslexia, Galvan-Flores now has the tools to succeed. 

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“It’s something that I know that I have,” said Galvan-Flores. “When I’m in the classroom I say to my assistant ‘I’m going to write this. I need you to check it because maybe there are going to be missing words.’ I don’t have a problem to openly say it and ask for help.” 

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Although her teachers made Galvan-Flores' school days difficult, they were ultimately part of the reason she wanted to get into education. “I want to be a teacher because I don’t want to be like them,” she said.

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As a storyteller in Mexico Galvan-Flores worked with kids of all ages from elementary to high school. While storytelling first got her into the classroom back in Mexico, her journey into the classroom in the United States wasn’t as simple.

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“When I arrived here in the United States, of course I wanted to continue in education,” said Galvan-Flores. “But I didn’t have the credentials to work in schools.”

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Luckily Galvan-Flores already had a network of people to turn to when she came over. It was through this network she was able to stay in education by becoming a Spanish tutor. Although she was able to use her storytelling skills in this position, something wasn’t quite right for her.

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“We had a program for these children that are middle schoolers and high schoolers,” said Galvan-Flores. “I saw that something was off. Something that I cannot reach because there was already a wall for them.”

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During a conversation with a mentor, Galvan-Flores expressed her frustrations at not being able to connect better with her students. She also expressed her desire to make a bigger impact. In response her mentor asked “Have you ever been in an early childhood classroom?” 

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This question sparked some self-reflection in Galvan-Flores. She had loved the interactions with elementary school students back in Mexico, especially the younger ones. Before long she was going after her Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, leading her back to the classroom.

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Now with years of experience as an early educator, Gavlan-Flores is committed to advocate for her ECE community. One of the ways Galvan-Flores advocates is by using her voice to counter narratives that question the need for early childhood education.

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“Early childhood education is not only in the first years of education that you are going to have a really powerful impact on the children,” said Galvan-Flores. “It is about when this tiny person is growing up and all the bases that early childhood education gives to them. You can see that there is a huge difference between the children who are exposed to a quality early childhood education versus the ones that don’t have this opportunity.”

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Along with using her voice to change perceptions on the importance of early childhood education, Galvan-Flores is also using her voice through DCAEYC’s coalition partner Under 3 DC to speak up for the rights of educators.

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“I am there to discuss the problems teachers are facing like pay equity, the lack of benefits,” said Galvan-Flores. “I had been writing letters and giving my testimony to attest about that. I had been to the rallies to be with all the teachers there and I try to always talk to not only the teachers in my center but also other teachers outside my center, especially with the Spanish speakers.” 

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Always looking to advance herself, Galvan-Flores recently attained a degree in pedagogy through an online program through the National University of Mexico.

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“I chose pedagogy, not only early childhood education, because in pedagogy you bring a broad spectrum,” said Galvan-Flores. “That’s what I try to do in early childhood education. It’s not only the child. It's the family, it's the policies that you have in place, it’s the money that there is for education.”

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Now a mentor herself, Galvan-Flores doesn’t miss an opportunity to encourage other educators to reach for higher credentials as well.

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“I always push my assistants saying ‘Go to college, study more, study more. It’s for you,’” said Galvan-Flores. “‘The children are going to benefit because you are learning something, but this is for you.’”