Latinas are significantly under-represented as teachers in our schools even with the growing number of Latino students. With teachers of color leaving the profession early, retaining them has become a national crisis (Souto-Manning & Dice, 2007). We need to hear the silent voices of Latina teachers (Anzaldúa, 2007; Ochoa, 2007; Sandoval, 2000) to gain insights into ways that school districts can support, mentor, and retain them in the profession.

The purpose of this research was to listen to the life stories of two bilingual Latina teachers and how they built bridges to form their own cultural identities, and what bridges they perceive still need to be constructed to ease the transition into the teaching profession. By listening to their experiences and insights, a model was developed for school districts to consider.

Feminist methodology and life-history methods were utilized in this study to understand how cultural identity is formed and how each respondent experienced entrance into the teaching profession. The respondents revealed several challenges upon entering the profession. They included: extra work translating documents, a lack of curriculum resources to support bilingual and ESL teaching, feelings of isolation, coping with the misguided perceptions about the realities of the teaching profession, and the misinformed perceptions of colleagues working in an environment with diversity. The findings of this study concluded by proposing the dichos model as a bridge that leads to success. This model was developed using dichos, or Spanish proverbs, to frame out strategies and recommendations for school districts to include in their mentoring and induction programs.