Xiomara (Xio) Castro was born in New Jersey; however, she considers herself a “southern girl with an accent.” Born from a Colombian mother and a Dominican father, her first language was Spanish. Her family moved to the Dominican Republic when she was 10 years old and then moved back to the United States when she was 18 years old. At age 19, she joined the military and served in the Army for almost 7 years. She then went to work in Corporate America in different roles, including Director of Operations for an Atlanta financial company for 10 years. However, she felt called to homeschool and decided to let go of her corporate career. Xio taught Spanish for five years to both adults and students including those in the Fayette County home school community. As a graduate of Colorado Technical University, she earned her BS in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Human Services and is looking forward to pursuing her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the future.
She has been married to her best friend for 23 years and they have two children. A 27-year-old daughter, whom she homeschooled part-time during her high school years, and a son that was homeschooled until graduation and now attends Baylor University in TX. She volunteers with her husband at a ministry for homeless men in Atlanta and is active in her community. When she is not spending time with her family, teaching, studying, traveling or serving, you will find her hiking at different state parks with her hiking club.
One of her biggest passions is to work with kids, especially teens. She loves sharing her love for God with them, as well as her Spanish language and culture. Xio’s number one priority for her students is that they not only learn Spanish well enough to be successful in the next level, but that they learn to love the Spanish language and the culture. She is extremely excited about this opportunity to get to know your students and work with you, as a partner, in your child’s education.
