Dr. Rachel Butiko: Finding Her Voice to Educate Others

As a schoolgirl growing up in Kenya, Dr. Rachel Butiko MAED 鈥10 experienced the fruits of education in the most literal sense.
Knowing she could read and write, the uneducated women of her village gifted Butiko bananas in exchange for reading the letters their working husbands sent home from the cities.
鈥淚 grew up in a very poor environment and the one thing I knew would take me out of that was education,鈥 Butiko said. 鈥淓ducation was a key to so many things.鈥
Butiko began her teaching career in Kenya. After arriving in the U.S., she struggled in the classroom, which led her to enroll in 91麻豆映画传媒鈥檚 Master of Arts in Education program, focusing on English as a second language.
鈥91麻豆映画传媒 gave me a voice鈥攖he voice to be the teacher I am,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen I left 91麻豆映画传媒, I felt confident. I knew I had a direction.鈥
Today, Butiko teaches a diverse group of English language learners at Hodges Bend Middle School in Houston, Texas, where she was named Teacher of the Year for 2022鈥23.
Many arrive in her classroom as immigrants knowing little to no English. As someone who learned English as a second language herself, Butiko sees the position, which she has held for 15 years, as a perfect fit.
Last August, she was recognized by Houston Life, a local news and lifestyle program, in a segment called 鈥淗onoring Amazing Teachers.鈥 (Watch the clip ).
鈥淭his is a blessing,鈥 an overwhelmed and beaming Butiko told the film crew who surprised her in her classroom. 鈥淏ut you know who makes me great? These people,鈥 she noted, pointing proudly to her students as the camera panned across their desks.