— LISTEE'S SPOTLIGHT —

Michael A. Cervantes is a retired educator for the El Rancho Unified School District in San Gabriel, California where he spent more than three decades. During his longstanding tenure with the district, he developed its bilingual and bicultural education programs and served as an elementary classroom teacher, a teacher of Spanish as a second language for the Gifted and Talented Education Program, and district chair.

Now retired, Mr. Cervantes remains active in the San Gabriel Historical Association as an editor, the El Rancho Federation of Teachers as its vice president, and the San Gabriel Veterans Memorial Coalition as its president. In addition, he is a student sponsor at San Gabriel Mission High School. Mr. Cervantes has established several endowed scholarships, the most recent in honor of his sister, Maria Dolores Cervantes, which awarded its first recipients in May 2025. A certified elementary teacher and bilingual specialist in California, Mr. Cervantes holds two master’s degrees in education and Chicano studies from California State University, Los Angeles. He was presented the Alumni Recognition Award from San Gabriel Mission High School in 2019 and is a grantee in his field.