He laughed while he recalled securing the job at DSHA. He stated, “My wife got me the job!” Thiele was at DSHA to interview for the open librarian position when staff mentioned they were looking for a Spanish teacher. She told them her husband taught Spanish, and Hurtado Pérez was brought in for an interview and offered the position shortly thereafter.

“I have loved teaching at an all-girls school. The kindness of the students here is not something I’d experienced before,” he shares. “I just love the environment here, and the students work really hard to succeed.”

The sense of community at DSHA, as well as the college-prep academics, convinced Hurtado Pérez and Thiele to send their daughter to DSHA. He stated, “As soon as we started working here, we knew we wanted Mae (Hurtado-Thiele, DSHA ’20) to have this type of education.”

He continued, “I got to be part of Mae’s day-to-day life. We would eat lunch together and she would stop by my classroom to talk. It was amazing to watch her thrive academically. It was special to see her walk across the stage at DSHA Graduation. It’s one of my favorite memories,” he shared. “With her DSHA Dual-Credit and AP courses, she was able to graduate from UW-Madison with 157 college credits in only three years (students need 120 to graduate with an undergraduate degree).”

Hurtado Pérez not only connected with his daughter at DSHA, but with all of his students. He shared, “I will miss the girls keeping me young and alive.” He continued “they entered my classroom each day laughing and asking me about my dog Paco.” Paco, the family yorkie, became famous due to the Paco Taco podcast he created as a way for his students to practice translation. Paco served as the  marketing image for the podcast and was featured prominently in the stories. “I wanted the girls to share their stories and lives with me and their peers during class,” he shared. He modeled that behavior by doing it himself. He stated, “I’ve been writing a book about the story of my life (in Spanish) but fictionalized. I bring in excerpts for the girls to read and translate. It’s great practice for them, and I get feedback on my work!”

In retirement, Hurtado Pérez hopes to continue working on his book, spending time with his family, friends, and dog, and diving deeper into his passions of Spanish and military history.

Señor Hurtado Pérez At-a-Glance
Years teaching: 29
Years at DSHA: 13
Classes taught: Spanish III, IV, and V; AP Spanish (for native Spanish speakers)
Co-curriculars moderated: Furia Latina
What he will miss the most about DSHA:  “I’m going to miss my coworkers and I’m going to miss the girls keeping me young. The connections that you make with the students, those are the ones I am going to miss.”
Favorite quote: "Be humble and kind." —Tim McGraw
Family: Hurtado Pérez has been married to DSHA Librarian Christina Thiele since 1983. They have two sons and a Dasher daughter, Mae Hurtado-Thiele, DSHA '20. He has seven grandchildren.
Education: Lieutenant of the Logistics Branch, Spanish Naval Academy; BA in Education, UW-Milwaukee; and MA in Computer Education, Cardinal Stritch University