ESL and ethnic studies educator Natalia Alvarez Benjamin has been named Minnesota’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: BYU Magazine
I always enjoy sharing stories about exceptional educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Natalia Alvarez Benjamin, a high school English teacher who has been named Minnesota’s 2022 State Teacher of the Year.
Natalia teaches high school English as a Second Language and ethnic studies at Century High School in Rochester, Minnesota, to students in grades 9-12. She has taught there since 2015. In her work as an educator, she is passionate about increasing the opportunities for her minority students, and she dedicates her considerable energies to important issues such as pedagogy, cultural identity, and heritage speakers.
In her work with students, Natalia is a passionate advocate for her students of color. In fact, she is a member of the program known as Facing Inequities and Racism in Education – Racial Equity Advocates (FIRE-REA). Through this program, the honored educator has worked on cultural competency training. In addition, she is a member of several organizations that support teachers and students, including Education Minnesota’s League of Latinx Educators and Rochester Schools’ employees of color resource group. She also represents her district in the Rochester Education Association and serves on the Women’s Issues Committee for the National Education Association.
Natalia was born and raised in Guatemala. Spanish is her first language, but as a young girl, she attended a French school, so she learned to speak, read, and write in French. “My personal experiences with languages created a passion and appreciation for multiple languages and cultures,” reveals Natalia. “Many of my students are navigating new cultures and places. I hope that I can be a small part of their journey in succeeding as they follow their dreams,” she continues.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and her Master’s degree in Language Acquisition, both from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
