One of the surest ways to help children succeed academically is to have parents, educators and students all on the same page. Making this connection between home and school is the passion of Marjorie Murillo, a Community Liaison Specialist (CLS) at Gateway Environmental K-8 Learning Center in Miami-Dade County and winner of FEA’s 2025 Education Support Professional (ESP) of the Year Award.
Murillo began her career in 1994 at Naranja Elementary School in Homestead. In her thirty-year career, she has consistently gone above and beyond to ensure that every child and every family she comes across is able to succeed. Whether it is helping to make sure basic needs are met by organizing food drives around the Holidays, helping unhoused families find the resources they need to secure safe and affordable housing, or helping parents with a language barrier navigate the complexities of the school system, Murillo sets students up for success by making sure every child and their family is afforded dignity and respect.
Her public education and to helping others learn how to advocate for themselves both can be traced back to her childhood in Costa Rica. When Murillo was a young girl, her mother would have her read the newspaper aloud. Initially she thought her mom just wanted to ensure that she was getting practice reading to reinforce what she was learning at school. However, Murillo began to realize there was more to it than that.
Her mother was unable to read and was dependent on her daughter to read the newspaper to her. Now, as a CLS, she works parents much like her mom. She helps parents realize that whether they can read or not or whatever barriers they might face, they are an important part of the school community and that there are resources to help them be the best parent they can be to help make sure their child thrives.
The care and commitment Murillo shows for everyone she encounters is perhaps summed up best by the assistant principal at her school. In writing a letter of recommendation for Murillo’s recognition for ESP of the year, she wrote: “She is an incredible CLS and an even better person.”
You can watch Murillo’s acceptance speech below.
