Maria was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and started her college education at Radford College in 1951. She spoke limited English at the time and recently said she still has an accent. She earned her masters degree at Madison College.
Maria’s love for teaching started when she observed her mother, a first grade teacher, in the classroom. Maria came to Winchester Public Schools to teach Spanish at Daniel Morgan Middle School in 1973.
Maria pushed her students to achieve at the highest level possible. Her 8th grade Spanish I classes competed in the National Spanish Exam against regional high school students. In 1977, her Daniel Morgan students took the first 5 places in the region. Her students earned 10 of the top 12 places the following year and the top 6 places in 1979. She started teaching at Handley in the early 1980’s.
Maria considered herself to be a very strict teacher. One of her students, Polly Nesselrodt, said that her no-nonsense approach involved extensive nightly homework, writing out stories first in Spanish, then in English, and rigorous oral tests. Showing up unprepared for Mrs. Tederick’s class was just never an option.
She set the bar in foreign language pedagogy, professionalism and dignity.
Despite her serious demeanor about teaching, she talked to her students about life on the island of Puerto Rico and all sorts of anecdotal stories that would connect with the class lesson for the day. Maria said she would talk to students about things teachers cannot talk about today. For instance, before prom, she would tell the boys in her class to open the doors for their dates and to ask permission before pinning on a corsage.
She made sure her class was not boring and, by capturing the students’ interest, she ignited their interest in Spanish.
Maria met her husband, Mitch, in college while he was a cadet at VPI. They raised their four sons in Front Royal. After retiring in 1996, she and Mitch built and ran the Apple Country Store in Linden and she operated a women's boutique called Mela's, her nickname, at Creekside.
Always a teacher, she recently said, “One’s greatest treasure is knowledge. Pass it along.”