Mr. Ríos brings over 30 years of rich educational experience to JCS Cedar Cove. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a focus in Counseling and Philosophy from California State University, Fullerton, a Master of Arts in English Literature, and a Professional Clear Teaching Credential from UC Irvine alongside a Bilingual Certificate of Competence. Throughout his career in the Santa Ana Unified School District—where he served as a founding bilingual teacher at Garfield Elementary, a classroom educator and curriculum specialist across multi-grade elementary levels, and a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA)—Mr. Ríos has remained steadfastly dedicated to dual-language excellence. He views early language immersion as a life-changing foundation for young minds. Over the years, he has partnered with the Irvine Math Project and Fullerton Family Reading and Math, and has won Science and Technology awards and grants from the Orange County Department of Education. He is also trained in GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design), Thinking Maps for GATE, SIPPS, PALS, REWARDS (reading remediation programs), and Capturing Kids’ Hearts, among other professional frameworks.

In the classroom, Mr. Ríos believes that learning should be an active, hands-on, minds-on exploration driven by strong educational pedagogy and best practices. As a parent himself, he treats each student the way he would want a teacher to treat his own child, creating a joyful, student-centered space where curiosity and wonder lead the way. His philosophy is rooted in personalized, relational learning: building authentic partnerships with families, honoring each child’s individual pace, and fostering the critical thinking skills students need to thrive in a global world—all while prioritizing friendship, belonging, and kindness.

Outside the classroom, Mr. Ríos’s life has been its own adventure. When he was 17, his family moved back to Argentina, sparking a lifelong journey of traveling back and forth between both countries. Whether riding dirt bikes and horses on the Pampa, surfing the Pacific Coast, or snowboarding in Patagonia, he has always embraced the outdoors. Backpacking has always been a favorite pursuit; he even attempted to launch a backpacking company in the lake region of Patagonia. While the business didn’t work out, he will never forget that year hiking along the Andes from glacial lake to glacial lake on unmarked routes.

While life has slowed down quite a bit, his greatest adventure today is being a dad to his 17-year-old son, Isaiah. His nights and weekends are now joyfully filled with marching band, drumline, and garage band concerts. Though he is happily “adventure-retired,” amazing friends both here and in Argentina still coax him out into the wild every now and then. Lately, if he’s not reading a good book or barbecuing for family and friends, you can usually find him outdoors tending to his garden and fruit trees, or spending time with his two Great Pyrenees and cats: Blanca, Bailey, Mochis, and Rainbow.