Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

Texas teacher Krystal Contreras wins Milken Award

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Krystal Contreras

Fourth grade writing teacher Krystal Contreras of Texas, winner of a 2018-2019 Milken Award.

America’s students are very fortunate to have many talented educators staffing our public schools. They work tirelessly to develop innovative and effective instructional programs, and they genuinely care about their students. One of these is Krystal Contreras, a fourth grade writing teacher from San Benito, Texas.

Krystal is a long-time resident of San Benito. As a youngster, she attended the school where she now teaches, Cash Elementary. She has served 14 years as an educator at that school. After she graduated from San Benito High School, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Communications from the University of Texas Pan American in 2004.

Krystal has a reputation for seeking new strategies to add to her instructional program. Her classroom is organized and welcoming, with a flexible seating arrangement. Sometimes she re-arranges her furniture to simulate a picnic or uses black lights to make a point. She frequently asks her students to work in small groups, often with laptops. Krystal tutors after school and on Saturdays, making extra learning sessions fun by incorporating engaging activities and games. From the 2016-17 school year to the 2017-18 school year, the school’s fourth-graders who passed their end-of-year writing assessments increased from 82% to 87%. Both years, the percentage was the highest in her school district. To achieve these results, Krystal spent her summer researching new writing strategies and attending professional development workshops. Above all, this dedicated educator works towards helping her students become independent problem solvers.

“I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher,” recalled Krystal. “I remember playing school with my brother in my bedroom when we were young,” she continued. “I love trying to make an impact for the children of my community.”

The Milken Educator Awards has been described by Teacher magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to the $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education. Krystal is one of up to 40 educators, and the only one from Texas, who received the Milken Educator Award for the 2018-2019 year.

Lucia Rede Madrid: Pioneer Texas educator and librarian

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Lucia Rede Madrikd

Educator Lucia Rede Madrid in the Blue Room of the White House where she received presidential recognition.

There are many fine educators who have contributed to the development of America’s border-town communities. One of these was Lucia Rede Madrid, a dedicated teacher from the border town of Redford, Texas.

Lucia Rede was born in Polvo, Texas, on January 8, 1913. She was the sixth of eight children born to Eusébio Rede and Antonia Luján, who had settled in the area in 1870. When Lucia was only 12 years old, her family relocated to the tiny community of Marfa, West Texas.

Lucia was born to be a teacher. As a young girl, she helped to educate her brothers and sisters. In fact, seven of the eight Rede children became teachers. Lucia earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Education, both from Sul Ross State University. Sul Ross is a public institution of higher learning located in Alpine, in the Big Bend region of the far western part of Texas. After earning her degrees, Lucia taught at public schools in Marfa and Redford for 23 years.

After her retirement from the classroom in 1976, the dedicated educator established a private lending library in the isolated border town of Redford in 1979. She started the library with just 25 books. By 1992, the collection included over 15,000 volumes. The institution gained national attention and still functions today as a library and museum. Current library holdings include Lucia’s personal Library Hall of Fame, a collection of portraits of individuals who were children in Redford that have gone on to successful careers as engineers, doctors, teachers, and accountants.

For her work as a pioneer educator and librarian, this chalkboard champion has garnered many accolades. She was once featured on the NBC Today Show, and a story about her was published in National Geographic in February, 1984. The story was entitled “West of Pecos.” In addition, Lucia was honored with the President’s Volunteer Service Award by President George W. Bush in 1990, and the Ronald Reagan Award for Volunteer Excellence. In 1989, Lucia was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.

Lucia passed away at the age of 90, but her work has not been forgotten!

Former elementary school teacher Olivia Diaz served in the Nevada State Assembly

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Olivia Diaz

Former elementary school teacher and Nevada State Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz

There are many examples of excellent classroom teachers who have gone on to have careers in politics. One of these is Olivia Diaz, an elementary school teacher who also served in the Nevada State Assembly.

Olivia was born in 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a young woman, she attended inner-city schools, graduating as the salutatorian from Rancho High School. Following her high school graduation, Olivia earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Bilingual Education from Nova Southeastern University, a private university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. While still in college, Olivia did volunteer work for AmeriCorps, a federal program that offers opportunities for public service.

Once she earned her degrees, Olivia accepted a position in the Clark County School District as an English Language Learner Specialist at Ronnow Elementary School. For the next 15 years, she devoted her energy to her students as a teacher of at-risk kids.

In 2009, Olivia was elected to the Nevada State Assembly to represent District 11 on the Democratic ticket. She was elected to four consecutive terms, serving from 2010 to 2018. While in office, Olivia worked on the Committee for Education, the Committee for Commerce and Labor, the Judiciary Committee, and the Subcommittee on K-12/Higher Education. She was also a member of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators.

“As one of the first Latinas ever elected to the Nevada State Legislature, she has been a trailblazer and role model for many aspiring leaders,” expressed Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly Jason Frierson, Olivia says she is grateful for the opportunity to serve her community. “Investing in education, fighting to protect and expand health care, and working to ensure that Nevada’s economy works for everyone has been an honor and a privilege,” she says.

On December 3, 2018, Olivia resigned her position in the Assembly to run for a position on the Las Vegas City Council.

Eighth grade teacher, poet, and author Elizabeth Acevedo

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Elizabeth Acevedo

Eighth grade teacher, poet, and author Elizabeth Acevedo.

There are many examples of excellent teachers who have earned acclaim in arenas outside the classroom. One of these is Elizabeth Acevedo, an eighth grade schoolteacher who is also a poet and author of young adult novels.

Elizabeth, who identifies as Afro-Latina, was born to parents who immigrated from the Dominican Republican. She was raised in New York. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts from George Washington University. She earned her Master’s degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Creative Writing from the University of Maryland.

As a 2010 Teach for America Corps participant, Elizabeth went into the classroom following her college graduation. She taught eighth grade in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Elizabeth’s books include, Beastgirl & Other Origin Myths published in 2016, and With the Fire on High published in 2019. Her first novel, The Poet X (2018), The Poet X, was published in 2018, and instantly became a New York Times Bestseller. The novel won the 2018 Boston Globe-Hornbook Award, the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award.

Today, Elizabeth lives in Washington, DC. She is involved in a variety of poetry workshops at high schools and universities. She also works as a visiting instructor at an adjudicated youth center in Washington, DC, where she works with incarcerated women and with teenagers. In addition, she attends a lot of poetry slams as a host or judge, and she was once a coach.

“Being around teenagers all the time makes me aware of the emotional scale that they’re on and how they’re responding to things,” Elizabeth says. “If nothing else, it’s a reminder of how brilliant they are,” she asserts. “Some adults write down to young people, but, if you listen to them, they’ll tell you what they need. Oftentimes, I think they’re more able to handle difficult subjects than we give them credit for,” she concludes.

 

Lin Manuel Miranda pays tribute to his 8th grade teacher

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Talented playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, and singer Lin Manuel Miranda was visibly moved yesterday when he received a special message from his eighth grade teacher Dr. Rembert Herbert. After watching the message, the Golden Globe Award winning Miranda paid tribute to his former teacher.

“Dr. Herbert’s the reason I’m sitting here talking to you,” Miranda confessed to David Begnaud of CBS News. “I wrote a musical instead of doing my homework for his class in eighth grade. He said, ‘You could be good at this, and you should stop hibernating in my class, and you should be doing this.’ Because we had a student-written theater club at my high school and Rembert’s the one who nudged me in that direction and he sort of changed my life forever with that,” Miranda remembered.

You can watch the segment from CBS This Morning below.

Read more about yesterday’s interview of Lin Manuel Miranda at the following link: www.cbsnews.com.