Longtime resident of Merrillville, Ann Marie Caballero, hopped around the Chicagoland area before settling there, but she plans to make one last move to the city in Northwest Indiana that she takes most pride in – Portage.
Although Caballero has been in Merrillville she since moved there in the 8th grade, graduating from Merrillville High School and raising her two children there, her heart is now in Portage. This is Caballero’s second year as the Assistant Principal for Freshmen at Portage High School and the main reason she realized that she wanted to move to Portage.
“I was so impressed with Portage Township schools that I actually transferred my son to Portage High School his senior year,” said Caballero. “That’s where he graduated from.”
Caballero was so moved by the way that Portage school staff treated and connected with their students that she knew transferring her son with a learning disability would be the best thing to do. The encouragement and support that she saw PHS staff pour out to her son made her emotional, feeling everything from gratitude to pride.
Caballero is certain that the administration team and teachers are the ones to thank for creating success in all students that walk through their doors, including her son.
Another reason that Portage is Caballero’s new desired destination to reside in is because of her background academically. Starting out as an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), Caballero soon realized that the medical field was not something that she wanted to continue doing. Caballero explained, “Although I was helping, people are dying and they’re sick and I was just not very fulfilled and satisfied with that role.”
It was then that she decided to go back to Purdue University Northwest, to pursue a teaching education, feeling that every job position she’s been in since she started working at the age of 14 has involved her having to teach or train others to some capacity or degree.
“I felt it was a natural fit to go into education,” explained Caballero. She ended up teaching at both Gavit Middle School and High School in Hammond for 10 years. Feeling that she had done everything that she could there in her time teaching, Caballero knew that she could do more beyond the classroom.
“I reached my potential in regards to the classroom. I was doing everything I could do at that level,” said Caballero, and from there, she decided to go back to school again to work on her administration license and master’s degree.
While Caballero would have been content staying in the classroom, she unexpectedly got the job offer for the position she’s in now at Portage High School.
Now that Caballero is in administration, her teachings have shifted from the classroom to representing the minority student population in the Portage school district. A student population of diversity was something very important to Caballero in deciding when it came to which schools she applied to.
“Being Latina, we are a very small percentage in administration and teaching, coming short of representing that student population in districts,” Caballero said as she explained why she applied to Portage High. “I wanted to lead by example to students that would feel connected to me culturally and feeling like they had somebody like them.”
Caballero and all her hard work and dedication are proof that women, especially any women of color, can get positions that they may feel can never happen because of who they are. Even though Caballero has gone back to school three times after high school, she’s not done – she’s already thinking about working towards a doctorate.
“Let’s see how far I can go,” Caballero said. “You can do anything you put your mind to and be successful. Nobody can limit you. You only limit yourself. It’s your hard work and your dedication and your drive and your tenacity.”