Cynthia Torno returns to the classroom

What is the old saying?... "You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can't...call a Rose by any other name!"...? Something like that, anyway. The point is, Cynthia Torno loves to teach, and after a sixyear hiatus when she concentrated her energies in her family's real estate business, she is returning to the classroom. And Buffalo High School students will be the lucky beneficiaries of that decision.

Torno will be teaching English I, 9th grade Pre-AP and Junior AP English classes -- the subject she taught for 12 years at Centerville ISD, where she received Teacher of the Year honors. She will also be coaching Informative and Persuasive Speaking for UIL academic competitions, which she enthusiastically predicts is "going to be fun!"

In fact, everything about Torno bespeaks her enthusiasm and passion for teaching. She is a high-energy lady with a sparkle in her eye as she insists, "I'm SO excited to be back in the classroom. Teaching is a part of my life I really missed." With two weeks of summer still to go, her new classroom is already warmly decorated with an Americana theme, her bulletin boards are smartly dressed, and her treasured hard-bound volumes of literature proudly fill the new bookshelves, waiting to welcome the students.

With her many years of experience, first at Teague and then Centerville, Cynthia Torno is confident of the skills she brings to the classroom. "The students know I genuinely care about them. I'm hard, but I'm fair -- there's an important balance there. And I love literature -- love English! The kids can sense when you care and love it." (As an aside, Torno confided, "I am SO glad to give up orange -- ready for a new color!" Sure 'nuf, she was already proudly wearing Buffalo purple on the day of her Press interview.)

Cynthia grew up in Houston, graduating from Deer Park High School where she was involved in speech and drama and was on the drill team. She and Steve Torno married in '72 and she worked for the Dean of Education at A&M while putting her husband through school. They moved to Buffalo in '74 and raised their family, and Cynthia earned her teacher certification in '90 at Sam Houston State University. Son Matt graduated from Teague High School and daughters Melody and Jennifer went to Centerville High. Matt still lives here and is in the real estate business. Melody is a theater teacher at Foster High School in Houston and Jennifer lives in the valley and is a nurse.

Cynthia is a Master Gardener, a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and president of the Ft. Boggy chapter of DRT, and she loves to travel. She is also quick to brag on her five grandchildren: Conner, Drake, Caden, Hailey and Ashlynn.