MIAMI (WSVN) - Four teachers are hoping to come out on top for their outstanding leadership and education at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
They’ve won each of their districts over with their excellence. Now, one of them could become Teacher of the Year.
With district officials set to announce the winner on Tuesday, this year’s four finalists are showing why their passion for education has them in the running.
Three of the nominees left the private sector to follow their passion for teaching the next generation. Two of them returned to work at their alma maters.
With 18 years teaching, Melissa Abril-Dotel works to build the crucial early building blocks for her students as second grade teacher at North Beach Elementary School.
“In our classroom, we do a lot of collaboration, we do a lot of inquiry-based learning,” she said. “I try to personalize the learning for all of them to engage them, because in the end, I want them to be lifelong learners. I want them to love what they do and be challenged as they do it.”
The second finalist, Nicolas Acosta Jr., teaches aviation and logistics at Miami Springs Senior High School. He said his time in aviation has helped propel the school’s program for students to learn piloting drones and airplanes.
“The kids really enjoy the class. I have a couple of students that actually want to be pilots, and I think that this class has really awakened that passion for them, and it’s opened up a lot of doors for them,” he said.
The last two finalists come from Robert Morgan Educational Center in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Williams Torres, who teaches digital arts at the school’s technical college, came from a household of teachers and worked as a lead concept artist for Cartoon Network.
Torres said his previous training and desire to learn new skills each year helps him keep his students up to date on new technologies.
“I just have a passion for this. I’ve been teaching 21 years, and every year I’m super excited to start the year, always,” he said. “I’m always trying to learn something new. I’m open; even though I’m not young, I’m open to new ideas and new technologies. I even allow them to come up with ideas or technologies that are coming up now and integrate it to the classroom if we can.”
Robert Morgan’s hospitality teacher, Alina Hughes-Robinson, brings her 15-year background in the field to take her students beyond the walls of the classroom.
“All the kids are trying to bust down my doors to get to my field trips, or what I like to call experiential learning activities,” she said. “It takes for us being out of the classroom and actually being in the field and getting that hands-on experience for the kids to actually experience what hospitality and tourism is, because I can only say so much from the books. It takes for them to actually be there and actually experience what it has to offer.”
Kendall Toyota and other sponsors are working with the district and will be rewarding the winner with keys to a brand-new car.
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