Darren Ortego, the Jennings Elementary School Teacher of the Year, will spare no effort to reach his students. The sixth-grade math teacher came to the career as a second-start in life after working in the restaurant business for nearly 20 years.

“It was a lot of soul searching and discussions with my wife…One thing about the restaurant and hospitality business is that it’s a lot of crazy hours. I just felt something drawing me to go into education — being able to take my interest in subjects and trying to develop those interests in students.”

He finished his degree at Southeastern Louisiana University, obtained his alternative teaching certificate and entered the profession 11 years ago. After teaching seven years in special education, he has taught history and math at Jennings Elementary School for the last four years.

His greatest mentor and “true mentor” in the teaching profession has been his wife, Jill Ortego, a 23-year veteran teacher. “She’s been teaching a long time and she’s always taught special education. In fact, she used to help me in the restaurant. She would help me with modifying different training programs for adults who may not be as literate as you and I.”

One of Ortego’s greatest joys in teaching math is helping students realize that “math isn’t the bad guy,” he said. “One of the things I’m able to help students with, and more so because of my unique background, is to answer that age-old question, ‘When will I ever use this?’ I help them understand they’re actually going to use this and why it’s important.”

Ortego’s classroom methods are so effective students voluntarily stay after school once a week to attend his free, weekly tutoring sessions. “What I found is I had my students who were struggling and they just needed extra time… It was students reaching out asking for help. That goes back to helping students realize that math isn’t the bad guy.”

The smaller group setting is especially effective, Ortego said, because it’s a more relaxed setting that allows the group to do fun activities that a normal class schedule wouldn’t allow time for.

Ortego started the tutoring out of his own desire to help reach the school’s motto: “We will exhaust all efforts to ensure that our students learn at the highest level.” “This is part of it,” he said.

“I had that availability that I could help. So, I’m going to exhaust all efforts.”

Exhausting all efforts also includes embracing all of the roles required of teachers on campus, especially being one of only three males. “So many students don’t have a male at all in their life. Teaching a young man to shake a hand properly, those things come into play as well to achieve the goal.”

When he’s not teaching, Ortego enjoys sports, especially his house divided between McNeese State University and Southeastern. He enjoys time outdoors and making memories with his wife and spending time with his granddaughter as well.