Paola Capó-García is an educator and poet from San Juan, PR who has been teaching for the past 12 years. As the 12th grade English Literature & Composition teacher at High Tech High Media Arts, she loved exploring the possibilities of language with students through the art of storytelling, contemporary poetry, and radical literature. Paola's love of visual art and her performance background inspired her to design projects ranging from book binding and printmaking to embroideries and piñatas, with a strong commitment to partnering with working artists and community activists. She also co-founded HTH Creates, HTHMA's student club geared toward organizing literacy and arts-focused events for the Point Loma village.
She is the author of CLAP FOR ME THAT’S NOT ME (Rescue Press, 2018), selected by D.A. Powell as the winner of Rescue Press' 2017 Black Box Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Volta, Puerto Rico en mi corazón, Latino Book Review, jubilat, Poetry Society of America, Academy of American Poets, and others.
Prior to her work at HTHMA, Paola taught at UC San Diego and UC Davis, where she earned an MFA in Creative Writing and an MA in English, respectively. She graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Magazine Journalism and English & Textual Studies. She enjoys lounging with her dogs (Boris and Furio), trying out new restaurants with her partner, and engaging with the Bravo-verse with her friends.