Welcome to the 6-7 division, Ms. Montaño! While Ms. Montaño is not new to the Academy, she is new to the 6-7 division, having previously taught in the 10-12 division since 2015. In her free time, Ms. Montaño likes crocheting, listening to music, and reading.
Ms. Montaño was born in Viña del Mar, in Chile. Her hometown is a beautiful, tourist town with many outdoor activities like going to the beach. She started speaking Spanish at a very young age. She says that being born in a Spanish-speaking country really enhanced her ability to teach the language. Ms. Montaño has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in Spanish Language and Culture from Salamanca University in Spain.

Ms. Montaño has been teaching Spanish for 20 years. She started teaching in a high school in Chile after graduation and was there for two years. After that, Ms. Montaño moved to Texas and started teaching at an elementary school in Irving. She later moved to New Mexico and worked for Santa Fe High School as well as Garfield Middle School, Valley High School, and Cibola High School. Ms. Montaño then moved to Albuquerque Academy in 2015, and started teaching in 1A – AP Spanish. In 2022, she took a break from teaching, and returned to Academy, teaching 6-7th grade in 2024.

When asked what she likes most about teaching the Spanish Language, she says that she enjoys sharing all the parts of the language, including vocabulary, grammar, culture, and geography. Ms. Montaño says that the Spanish language is growing rapidly, and everywhere she goes, people mention that they want to learn the language. She says that the most difficult part of learning the Spanish language is practicing every day and maintaining your knowledge of the language. Her advice to students is to take every opportunity [they] have to read and speak in Spanish. You can contact Ms. Montaño at [email protected]. We are very happy to have you, Ms. Montaño!