U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced that Fresno State alumnus Marciano Gutierrez is one of 12 teachers who will serve as Teaching Ambassador fellows during the 2012-13 school year.

Gutierrez is a social studies teacher at Alta Vista High School in Mountain View. He will work on teacher-quality issues in Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Duncan said, “It is critical that we work collaboratively with teachers to develop policies that will truly transform and elevate the teaching profession.”

Teaching ambassadors talk with their teacher peers nationwide and share what they hear with department staffers so thoughts and concerns can become part of education policy planning.

Before attending Fresno State, Gutierrez was president of Fresno’s Edison High School freshman, sophomore and junior classes, and then was elected student body president at Edison as a senior.

At Fresno State, Gutierrez was the Deans Medalist for the College of Social Sciences at the 2005 Commencement. That event also provided his favorite campus memory.

“As I stood on stage, accepting the Deans Medalist award, I looked at my mother, who was featured on the big screen, and thought of the great sacrifice that she made for me to be the first in our extended and immediate family to attend college,” Gutierrez said. “I could see how proud she was of my work.”

His mother passed away in February, he added and said, “That day in May 2005 will always have a special place in my heart.”

He said favorite professors Matthew Jendian (Sociology), William Skuban (History) and David Schecter (Political Science) “modeled engaging teaching and curriculum, but more importantly had a genuine concern for their students.”

“Throughout my teaching career, I have used lessons, resources and activities from each of their classes with my students,” Gutierrez added.

Dr. Luz Gonzalez, dean of the College of Social Sciences, said, “Marciano is verifying what we already know – our faculty are great and they help students achieve their goals and make their dreams come true and that Fresno State provides an exceptionally rich teaching and learning environment.”

Gutierrez has dedicated his career “to provide a quality education to children, especially to those from neighborhoods similar to my own.”

“I hope to accomplish this at a micro level by providing my students with quality instruction and high expectations,” he said. “As a teaching ambassador, I hope to accomplish this at a macro level by informing policy that helps attract and retain our best teachers in schools that serve our most vulnerable student populations.”

More information about the Teaching Ambassadors Fellowship program and Gutierrez’s appointment is available at Ed.gov.