Staff Spotlight: Meet the Father-Daughter Staff Duo at Nuestro Mundo Supporting Education Across Generations

When first-grade teacher Karina Araujo Sierra describes her Nuestro Mundo Community School colleagues as family, she means it – literally and figuratively. One of her coworkers happens to be her dad, Jorge Araujo, who has spent 32 years as a custodian in MMSD. For both, the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) school is more than a shared workplace – it’s a reflection of their family’s values, history and impact.

Karina is in her third year teaching, but her connection to Nuestro Mundo started long before her first classroom bulletin board. Growing up surrounded by stories of her grandparents’ school in Colombia and her dad’s dedication to Madison schools, she was drawn to education from an early age.

“I’ve always been surrounded by this community,” Karina said. “My grandparents were educators, my mom and dad both work in the district, and now I really enjoy teaching.”

Karina’s mom, Fabiola Araujo, is a lead custodian at O’Keeffe Middle School; at one point, Jorge and Fabiola worked together at Sherman Middle School. After spending almost 20 years at Nuestro Mundo, Jorge could have transferred to another site – one less demanding than the 109-year-old school building.

“Being bilingual myself, I thought working here would let me do something extra with the Spanish language,” Jorge said. “The principal, the staff, the kids, they really take care of the school and I wouldn’t want to miss this. And then knowing that my daughter was going to be working for Nuestro Mundo, it was another reason for me to stay and see her grow within the district.”

For Karina, her dad’s presence is both grounding and inspiring. “Since he's been working for so many years and has so much knowledge, he always has great ideas for everything from how I could set up my room to learning activities for my students.”

From day one as a teacher, she’s also felt support from the rest of the Nuestro Mundo staff. 

“Every single person has been so supportive. I've learned a lot, and I'm continuing to learn from my colleagues who are so open and caring,” Karina said. “Any positive impact that I can make on these kids is more than enough. I just love my job.”

Jorge’s impact on students spans generations – in recent years, he’s run into not only former Nuestro Mundo students, but their kids as well. When current students see him, they often greet him as Maestro Jorge, ready for a high-five or a chat.

“I always say, my job is not about pushing a broom. Of course I keep the building working and safe, but it's more than that,” Jorge said. “I think you have to plant the seed of connection somewhere in the line.”