EDINBURG CISD'S 2019-2020 DISTRICT TEACHERS OF THE YEAR
District Elementary Teacher of the Year
Michelle Hope Frazier
Anne L. Magee Elementary School
Michelle’s professional career in one word: DYNAMIC
Dedicated while
Always Yearning for Knowledge and
Never Giving Up, with a
Positive Attitude while
Being a Mentor and
Inspiring Students and Colleagues
In a Creative Manner
Michelle began her teaching career when she was in middle school. She taught twirling, tumbling, and dance classes. She was amazed at how it felt to motivate and captivate young minds, and it was then she knew TEACHING was her calling! During her early years of teaching, she excelled as a distinguished teacher as her drive and determination led her to write curriculum, become a trainer of trainers, and earn prestigious Teacher of the Year awards. Twenty-four years later she has become a teacher who strives for excellence every day, envisions all students becoming lifelong learners, and creates a leaning environment rich of differentiated instruction to provide the best approach for all learners. She ensures that her students feel safe, confident, and are ready to learn. Michelle is a great role model to her students, as well as, her fellow teachers. She is always willing to go that extra mile and help in any way possible. Teaching is not just a job to Michelle: it is a part of her life and always will be.
District Secondary Teacher of the Year
Delia Perez
Johnny G. Economedes High School
Delia Pérez teaches Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics at Johnny Economedes High School. As part of the Economedes Early College High School faculty, Ms. Pérez fulfills her longtime professional goal of preparing students for the rigors of higher education. Throughout her career, Ms. Pérez has helped students gain entry to America’s finest colleges and universities—with more than 50 students graduating from Ivy League schools and returning to South Texas to pursue their lives and careers. Ms. Pérez was featured for this work on NBC’s Today Show. Ms. Pérez’ professional experience includes 21 years dedicated to public education, including 13 years as a classroom teacher. Her passion supporting students to become well-informed participants in the American democracy is evident in and out of the classroom. Ms. Pérez has advocated for education policy changes at the state and national level. She and her students lobbied and testified before Texas legislators in support of Senate Bill 1, a precursor to the Dream Act. Ms. Pérez also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee about rural education priorities. As a high school student, Ms. Pérez established the annual East Coast college trips at Edcouch-Elsa High School. She graduated from Yale University in 1997, where she majored in Latin American Studies and Teacher Preparation. She returned to teach at her alma mater and later went on to earn her master's degree in public policy at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin
If you are a Edinburg ECISD teacher and would like more information about the Teacher of the Year program, please contact Mara Lee Moats at (956) 289-2300 ex.2036
Recognition of 2019-2020 Teachers of the Year by Texas State Representative Terry Canales
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Texas State Representative Canales was here to pay tribute to our teachers and the art of teaching. Since 2015, Representative Canales has honored our teachers with a certification . He understands teachers well, because he lived with one for many years, and comes with heartfelt appreciation of the work teachers do.
The Edinburg CISD has honored Teachers with the "Teacher of the Year" distinction since 2003, where 43 Teachers are selected every year, from elementary, secondary, and alternative schools, one from every campus, to represent our amazing group of over 2,000 ECISD teachers. Our teachers are exceptional, they are strong, dedicated, and dynamic, many of them earning awards from multiple educational organizations who recognize that the Edinburg CISD Teachers are simply the BEST!
We know that teachers ignite and inspire young minds, and the teacher is the heart of education. We also know that teachers need the support of your Principals. It is a collaborative team effort that can not be done without one another.
Teacher of the Year Program
Since 1969, the Texas State Teacher of the Year (TOY) Program has honored excellence in classroom education and provided a forum to showcase many outstanding educators whose efforts and example have inspired their students, their colleagues and the communities they serve.
Texas Teacher of the Year is the highest honor that the State of Texas can bestow upon a teacher. Facilitated by the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), the Texas Teacher of the Year Program annually recognizes and rewards teachers who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and excellence in teaching.
Every fall, the Texas State Teacher of the Year Program honors 40 Regional Teachers of the Year, among which are two State Teachers of the Year — one in elementary education and one in secondary education — and four state finalists. These regional teachers represent each of the 20 Education Service Center regions in Texas.
This state program is affiliated with the National Teacher of the Year Program, the oldest and most prestigious awards program designed to focus public attention on excellence in teaching. A selection committee representing the major national education associations selects the National Teacher of the Year from the nominees submitted by the 50 states. Every spring, the National Teacher of the Year is announced by the president during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House and is honored at special events in the nation’s capital. The National Teacher of the Year takes a year’s sabbatical from classroom instruction and serves as a roving ambassador for the teaching profession.
Edinburg CISD is proud to participate in the Teacher of the Year program. For more information, please contact Mara Lee Moats at the Professional Learning Office in the Technology Services Division.
If you are a campus Principal and would like a presentation of the Teacher of the Year program at your campus, please contact Mara Lee Moats at (956)289-2300 ex.2036
