An eighth-grade social studies teacher at Newburgh's South Middle School, Alyssa Cruz believes it's important to connect with her students, treat them with care and respect, but still expect the best out of them.

“If I can just impact one, if even just one student who walks through my class feels loved, that’s what matters," Cruz said.

Her care is the reason she spends hours of time looking for grants to help her students. She already spends thousands of her own dollars to help her kids get necessary supplies.

Cruz said her English Language Learners, or ELL kids, could use a little boost, which is why she applied for a $10,000 grant from the nonprofit Future of School.

Cruz said the money will go toward supplies and also helping ELL students, who often have trouble communicating because of the language barrier.

“It touches my heart to see how they work," she said. "Yet, they don’t feel like they can succeed.”

That help for her ELL kids will go toward Timekettle technology, which allows for real-time language translation through ear buds.

“For example, I have one in and I speak in English, but my Arabic student has it and it translates in Arabic," Cruz explained while demonstrating the earbuds.

She said she’s already seen a change in her ELL students.

“I was able to hear the student tell me about her day, tell me about her culture that she left behind, able to have a conversation, rather than just on a Google device,” she said.

Cruz said she’s going to keep applying for grants so the students and others who come after can have resources they need to learn.

“I want to know what’s happening outside the classrooms, if I can change things. And here I am," she said. "And every year … no way I would leave.”