The 2024-2025 school year warmly welcomes Mrs. Leeann Ruiz as the newest addition to Becton’s English department. With extensive prior teaching experience, Mrs. Ruiz had taught at Emerson Middle School in Union City for 13 years. During her time at Emerson Middle School, she taught sixth grade English and Social Studies, founded her school’s literary magazine Soaring Ink and was the advisor of the Young Adult Book Club.
Throughout the school year, Mrs. Ruiz hopes to develop positive relationships with her students and colleagues, as well as teach her students the values of reading. Mrs. Ruiz also wishes to prepare her students for life beyond high school. Some advice Mrs. Ruiz shares with her students is to take in every moment and enjoy your time in high school,“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be…bills and responsibilities and all,” she humorously jokes, reminding them to relish these carefree days before adulthood sets in. Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of treasuring the friendships made during this time.
Students describe Mrs. Ruiz as a pleasant and hardworking teacher. Junior Ella McQuaid commented on her nurturing character, “She always makes sure that everyone understands the lesson and is comfortable.” McQuaid shares that Mrs. Ruiz’s teaching motivates her to do her best!
In conjunction with her passion for storytelling and reading, teaching was always part of Mrs. Ruiz’s plan. Mrs. Ruiz attended The College of New Jersey for her undergraduate coursework, where she earned her bachelor’s degree as a teacher of English K-12. While teaching at Emerson Middle School, she decided to further her education at New Jersey City University. When studying At NJCU, Mrs. Ruiz received a certification for English as a Second Language and her Master’s degree as a Reading Specialist. Mrs. Ruiz comes from a family of teachers, she informs, “I witnessed firsthand the joys this career can bring!”
Mrs. Ruiz describes her experience at Becton as overwhelmingly positive. She shares that the students and staff have been extremely welcoming to her. Particularly, she expresses her joy in participating in Spirit Days and reflects fondly on the recent exciting and high-energy Fall Pep Rally.
Outside of school, Mrs. Ruiz likes to keep herself busy with family. As a devoted mother, she cherishes anything family-related, from taking her daughter to dance class to spending weekends at the pumpkin patch. In addition to family time, she enjoys expressing her creativity through arts and crafts and immersing herself in reading. A few of her favorite books include, “The Great Gatsby,” “The Nightingale,” “Divergent,” the entire series of “Harry Potter,” and anything by the author John Green.
What makes taking English Language Arts so special to Mrs. Ruiz is all of the stories it holds, “No matter how young or old you are, everyone has a writing voice and a unique story within them just waiting to be told.”
We’re thrilled to welcome Mrs. Ruiz into the Becton family—where her love for family is right at home!
