Friends, students honor 'Miss Mayra,' elementary school teacher slain in North Hollywood
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Families gathered at Wilshire Park Elementary School Friday evening to mourn the jarring loss of third-grade teacher Mayra Jimenez, who prosecutors allege was killed by her firefighter husband at their North Hollywood home.Many tears were shed as children, parents and friends remembered “Miss Mayra” — the devoted 46-year-old educator whose violent death has devastated the Koreatown school community.Mayra’s husband, Andrew Jimenez, 45, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder Friday, according to the L.A.
County district attorney’s office.If convicted as charged, he faces 26 years to life in prison.The crowd at the vigil was so large it overflowed into the street facing the school, where a pile of flowers and prayer candles were laid down to create a memorial for the slain teacher.
Sarah McNeill, a close friend of Mayra’s, said she was deeply loved by the Wilshire Park community and brought warmth into every room she entered.“She was always smiling, and her generosity, advocacy, and love for her students and colleagues showed up in everything she did,” McNeill said.“She’s the teacher that stayed at recess to give students extra support, called her teaching partner to book ideas for lesson plans over the weekend and went shop to shop to find just the right supplies to make her classroom exciting and engaging.”Karen Chacon said that Mayra transformed her family’s life by giving her child the special attention needed to thrive in the classroom.“Miss Mayra was not just a teacher,” Chacon said.
“She was someone who truly saw children for who they were and believed in who they could become.When our child needed extra care and support, Miss Mayra didn’t step back, she stepped forward.”Colleagues remembered Mayra as a dedicated educator and active member of the teachers union who spoke up to support the needs of her students and fellow staff memb...