Tag Archives: Latino American Teachers

CTE educator Julio Mejia garners FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence

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Career and technology education (CTE) teacher Julio Mejia of New York has garnered a 2025 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence. Photo credit: FLAG Award

There are many public school teachers throughout our nation who are deserving of special recognition. One of them is Julio Mejia, a Business and Technology educator from Staten Island, New York. He is one of six teachers in New York City who has garnered a 2025 FLAG Award for Teaching Excellence.

Julio has taught career and technology education (CTE) electives at New Dorm high School, where he is an alumnus, for the past eight years. There he leads the school’s specialized Small Learning Community (SLC) for business and technology. To expand his students’ exposure to professional fields, Julio plans field trips and events, including Career Days. This year, he also took on the responsibilities of the school’s Work-Based Learning Coordinator. Additionally, he coaches the school’s boys volleyball team. And as if all that were not enough, he teaches a college-level business course under the auspices of the University of Delaware.

In his classroom, Julio has worked to improve curriculum so that it better serves his students’ needs and to better prepare them for real world demands. When he noticed that his freshmen already possessed a working knowledge of some of the programs taught in the computer applications course, he shifted his focus to more advanced software. Also, when he perceived a gap in students’ creative thinking, he collaborated on the development of a new marketing elective.

“As an educator, you always second guess yourself on whether or not what you’re doing is making a difference,” confesses Julio. “Having other people tell you that you’re doing a great job — and compared to other teachers throughout New York City — is definitely something that’s super exciting. I’m really grateful for this opportunity to be given what I’ve been given,” he continues.

In addition to his FLAG honors, Julio will receive a check for $25,000 which he can use any way he wishes, and his school will receive an additional $10,000 grant to fund an arts-based initiative designed by the winner.

Julio earned his Bachelor’s degree from City University of New York, College of Staten Island, in 2015.

 

Former teacher Lin-Manuel Miranda earns high acclaim with “Hamilton”

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Former junior high school teacher Lin-Manuel Miranda has earned high acclaim as a composer, lyricist, singer, actor, playwright, and producer. Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

Almost everyone has heard of composer, lyricist, singer, actor, playwright, and producer Lin-Manuel Miranda. He’s probably best known for creating and starring in the blockbuster Broadway musical Hamilton. But did you know that he was once a junior high school English teacher?

Lin-Manuel was born Jan. 16, 1980, in New York City, the son of Puerto Rican parents. His father, Luis Miranda, Jr., was a political consultant. His mother, Luz Towns-Miranda, was a clinical psychologist. Lin-Manuel has one sister, also named Luz. While Lin-Mnauel was growing up, his family lived in the Hispanic neighborhood of Inwood in Manhattan.

The Miranda children were raised in a musically-oriented family. Both siblings took piano lessons. The music of Broadway featured prominently in their home, but Lin-Manuel also developed an appreciation for hip-hop, including the music of the Beastie Boys, Boogie Down Productions, and Eric B. & Rakim.

During his pre-teen and teenage years, Lin-Manuel attended Hunter College’s elementary and high schools. During these years, he performed in student stage productions. Once he graduated from high school, he enrolled at Wesleyan University, where he majored in theater studies.

After college, Lin-Manuel accepted a position teaching English to seventh graders. He worked this capacity for one year. Then he became a substitute teacher at his alma mater, Hunter College High School. That’s where he was working when his musical In the Heights caught the interest of Broadway producers.

“Hunter had asked me to stay on to continue to teach part time,” the former teacher remembered. But here came a chance to follow his dreams on Broadway. He asked his father, “What should I do? Should I keep teaching or should I just kind of sub and do gigs to pay the rent, and really throw myself into writing full time?”

His father responded with a heartfelt letter. “I really want to tell you to keep the job—that’s the smart ‘parent thing’ to do—but when I was 17, I was a manager at the Sears in Puerto Rico. I basically threw it all away to go to New York, [and] I didn’t speak a lot of English. It made no sense, but it was what I needed to do,” Lin-Manuel recalled the letter said. “It makes no sense to leave your job to be a writer, but I have to tell you to do it,” the elder Miranda advised. “You have to pursue that if you want.” The former teacher’s success is, as they say, history.

Since then, Lin-Manuel has garnered three Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and a MacArthur Fellowship. He was also honored at Kennedy Center in 2018.

To read more about the life of Lin-Manuel Miranda, follow this link to Biography.

Former science teacher Alberto Carvalho now serves as Supt. of LAUSD

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Former science teacher Alberto Carvalho immigrated to the US with his family in search of a better life. He now serves as the Superintendent of Los Angeles Public Schools. Photo credit: The New York Times

Many excellent classroom teachers go on to positions of leadership and influence in their school districts. Alberto Carvalho is a fine example of this. Alberto inaugurated his career in education as a classroom teacher in Miami, Florida, rising to the position of Superintendent there. Currently, he works as the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District in California.

The former classroom teacher immigrated to the United States from Portugal with his family in search of a better life in about 1983. He was 17 years old at the time. At first, the family landed in New York, but later they relocated to Miami. Alberto was the first in his family to graduate from high school. 

Because of his determination and hard work, Alberto was able to put himself through college. He enrolled in courses first at Broward Community College, and later he earned a scholarship to Barry University, where he completed the requirements for his Bachelor’s degree.

Alberto inaugurated his career in education as a science teacher at Miami Jackson Senior High School in Miami-Dade County. He taught physics, chemistry, and calculus there. After four years in the classroom, Alberto served the District in several leadership positions, including Assistant Principal and Chief Communications Officer, before his selection as the Superintendent. For 13 years, Alberto served in that role for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

During his tenure as Superintendent, Alberto garnered local, state, national, and international recognition. He was named Florida’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year; the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year; the 2016 winner of the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education; the 2018 National Urban Superintendent of the Year; the 2019 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Superintendent of the Year. In addition, he garnered recognition by Scholastic Administrator as one of “The Fantastic Five” educators making a difference in America.

Alberto currently serves on the National Assessment Governing Board, to which he was appointed by the US Secretary of Education. He also serves as a committee member for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and as an Advisory Committee Member to the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance.

On Dec. 14, 2021, this Chalkboard Champion was hired to be the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles, California. He continues to serve in this role today.

Florida teacher Bertha Vazquez has earned many accolades

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Science teacher Bertha Vazquez was won many accolades for her work in the classroom. Photo credit: Sage Publishing

I always enjoy sharing stories about one of the many fine science educators in our country. One of these is Bertha Vazquez, an award-winning science teacher from Miami Dade County Public Schools in Florida. She has won many accolades for her work in the classroom.

Bertha taught earth science, physical science, and life science at George Washington Carver Middle School in Miami Dade, Florida. She also taught French, but her main focus has been encouraging instruction in environmental education across the curriculum. Her career as an educator spanned 34 years.

In addition to her responsibilities in the classroom, Bertha served as the Director of the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science (TIES), a program connected with the Center for Inquiry and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. She retired from the teaching profession in 2023.

Bertha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, suma cum laude, from the University of Miami in 1989. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Science Education from Florida International University in 1999. She was also named to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 1999.

For her work as an educator, Bertha has earned many accolades. In 2008, she was named the South Florida Regional Science and Engineering Fair Middle School Teacher of the Year. She garnered the Miami Dade Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Award in both 2008 and 1997, and in 1998 she was a finalist for Miami Dade Teacher of the Year. Bertha was also named a Premio Verde Escolar in 2012. She earned a Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM grant in 2014, a Charles C. Bartlett Award for the National Environmental Education Foundation in 2009, and a Verizon Foundation Grant for Educators in 2011. She was also a 2015 State Finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Jr high English teacher Erika Garza-Silva garners prestigious humanities award

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Junior high school English teacher Erika Garza-Silva Texas has garnered a 2024 Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award. Photo credit: flour Bluff ISD

It is always my pleasure to share the story of an outstanding educator who has earned accolades for her work in the classroom. Today I share the story of Erika Garza-Silva, a Language Arts teacher from Texas. She has been recognized by Texas Humanities with a prestigious 2024 Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award.

Erika teaches Language Arts at Flour Bluff Junior High School in Corpus Christi. In addition, she serves as her school’s Language Arts Department Chair and she fills the role of the University Interscholastic League Coordinator.

“I strive each and every day to be the teacher that sees beyond labels, language barriers, or economic status and only sees a student who is full of possibilities,” declares Erika. “It is not only because I know what it feels like to be treated differently, but because I know first-hand what can happen when a teacher believes in you,” she continues.

To achieve her goals, Erika incorporates cross-curricular activities and project-based learning into her learning program. For example, her students explore 1960s culture by analyzing song lyrics, researching fashion, dressing up, and tie-dying old T-shirts. Erika believes these immersive activities enhance her students’ understanding of course material and help them feel more connected to the characters in the readings that have been assigned.

This outstanding educator is obviously well-respected by her colleagues. “Erika Garza-Silva’s consistent devotion to her students, community, and school makes her such a valuable asset to education,” says Brooke Zepeda, Intervention Specialist at Flour Bluff Junior High School. “As head of the English Department, she has led her team to achieve record-high ELA STAAR scores and is a phenomenal role model for the teachers she leads. As a bilingual educator, she also helps tremendously with our English as a Second Language (ESL) program, working with eighth-grade ESL students to ensure they are excelling in their classes,” Brooke continues. “Erika embodies strength, dignity, and compassion in every aspect of her work,” she concludes.

Well done, Erika!

To learn more about Humanities Texas, click on this link to their website.