Alice ISD honors late teacher Marin Perez with reading nook tribute
Alice ISD opened a reading nook at Alice High School to honor Marin Perez, the English teacher who spent 43 years shaping readers and writers in Alice.
A small corner of the Alice High School library now carries the name and memory of Marin Perez, the longtime English teacher whose influence stretched across generations of Alice ISD students. School officials unveiled a reading nook on June 6, 2024, turning a quiet space into a permanent tribute to a man colleagues, family and former students remembered as a steady force in the district.
Perez began his career with Alice ISD in 1978 and spent 43 years helping students build a love of literature. He died on February 1, 2021, in a Corpus Christi hospital from complications after heart surgery. He was 64 and was born on February 25, 1956, in San Diego, Texas. Because of COVID-era restrictions, his family and colleagues said he never received the kind of farewell they felt he deserved, which made the dedication especially meaningful more than three years later.
The tribute includes Perez’s photo, a plaque, one of his quotes and books connected to the work he taught. School leaders said the nook was created so his legacy would continue through students who sit there, read there and learn there in the years ahead. The setting inside the library reflects the way Perez spent his career, not just teaching English, but helping shape readers and writers in a district where relationships often last far beyond graduation.
Rosa Perez, his sister, said it felt wonderful to hear so many people speak about him and remember the many ways he helped others. Celina Garcia, a colleague, described him as more than a great educator, saying he was also a close friend who loved everyone and was always willing to listen. Their words matched the mood inside Alice High School, where the tribute served as both a memorial and a public thank-you.
The honor also underscored the reach of a teacher’s work in a close-knit South Texas district. Alice ISD serves six schools and had 4,297 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The district’s student body is about 90.2% Hispanic and 90.9% economically disadvantaged, and the student-teacher ratio stands at 19.95. In Jim Wells County, where Alice is the county seat and the city had 17,891 residents in the 2020 census, Perez’s influence was felt far beyond one classroom.
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