NMPED Secretary Designate Kurt Steinhaus
NMPED News:
SANTA FE — New Mexico Public Education (NMPED) Secretary Designate Kurt Steinhaus announced Thursday the three finalists for 2022 New Mexico Teacher of the Year.
Each year since the program began in 1963, New Mexico’s 89 school districts and state charter schools have been invited to nominate outstanding teachers to become New Mexico’s Teacher of the Year, representing our state in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Those nominated must then complete an application. Selection is based on both classroom performance and strength of application, including letters of recommendation from their school communities.
Applications are then reviewed and scored by a selection committee consisting of education leaders from across the state.
The top three have now been referred to Secretary Steinhaus, who will make the final selection before the end of October.
“What an incredible challenge and honor to choose New Mexico’s next Teacher of the Year. Each of these distinguished educators would represent our state with distinction, but I can name only one. I have a difficult decision ahead of me,” Steinhaus said.
Finalists for 2022 New Mexico Teacher of the Year:
Robbi Berry is a fifth-grade teacher at Monte Vista Elementary School in Las Cruces. She has been teaching for 26 years – the last eight with Las Cruces Public Schools. As a military spouse, she also taught in New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She was inspired to become an educator by a teacher who refused to accept that she was “not a math person” and worked with her until she got it.
Each year, Berry creates a family-like atmosphere in her classroom that includes referring to her students – and their families – as the Berry Bunch.
“Her philosophy is that all students are capable of growth, and each deserves to receive the very best educational experience she can provide,” Las Cruces Superintendent Ralph Ramos wrote in his nomination letter.
In addition to teaching, Berry serves as a Teacher Ambassador with the Public Education Department’s Teacher Leadership Network.
Lorynn Guerrero is an English Language Arts and GRADS teacher at New America School, a charter high school in Las Cruces. She began her teaching career in 2006 in Hatch, where she taught both middle and high school students before joining Las Cruces Public Schools in 2012, first at Organ Mountain High and now at New America School-Las Cruces.
Her father was an educator, and Guerrero always intended to follow him into the profession but worried that dream would be derailed when she became a mother at age 17. The Graduation Reality and Dual Skills program at her high school kept her on course and motivated her to bring the GRADS program – along with a childcare center – to New America School-Las Cruces in 2020.
“Ms. Guerrero is an outstanding teacher,” Margarita Leza Porter, the school’s superintendent and principal wrote in her nomination letter. “Her increased level of rigor, the setting of high expectations, and continual reflection on her teaching sets her apart from other educators.”
In addition to teaching, Guerrero is working on her master’s degree.
Stephanie Noll is an English Language Arts teacher at Peñasco High School in Peñasco. After graduating with a degree in secondary English education, Noll began her teaching career as a member of the Teach for America corps, serving in a Houston high school for five years.
She was drawn to Teach for America because of its mission to bring educational excellence to every child.
“As someone who has worked in public education for over 20 years, I see access to lifelong literacy programs as an equity issue that deserves more attention than it currently receives,” Noll wrote in her application.
Noll earned a master’s degree in creative writing in 2005 from Texas State University in San Marcos. She taught there for 12 years before returning to the high school classroom, where she believes she can have the greatest and most direct impact on her students, their families and their communities.
In addition to teaching, Noll serves on the National Council of Teachers of English.
The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association is the title sponsor for the New Mexico Teacher of the Year program for the fourth year.
Alisa Cooper de Uribe, a first-grade bilingual education teacher at NM International School in Albuquerque, is the 2021 New Mexico Teacher of the Year.
“The Teacher of the Year program reinforced my devotion to our learning communities and my commitment to all our students,” Cooper de Uribe said. “It is an honor to represent my beloved state of New Mexico and its educators in multiple spheres of civic life, and to connect with colleagues who bring care, creativity, and perspective to their work. The opportunity to spotlight the gifts and needs of our students and teachers was invaluable, and because of it, I look forward to a lifetime of education advocacy.”