Monday, September 27, 2015
By David Tym
Staff Writer
Albuquerque- Karen L. Hama, a Kindergarten teacher from Calle de Toledo Elementary School was named 2015-2016 National Teacher of the Year by Albuquerque Public Schools. This announcement came Friday night to an auditorium of district educators, parents, students, fellow teachers, family members, and community leaders, who filled the room with applause and cheers.
Hundreds attended the 17th annual Celebrating Excellence in Education ceremony held at the Frank Irwin Center on Friday. Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce for Excellence in Education sponsored the event, which included a dinner ceremony and music from the Albuquerque Symphony Orchestra.
“I join all New Mexicans in saying just how very proud I am that Ms. Hama, a teacher from New Mexico is being recognized as the foremost in the United States,” Governor Bill Richardson said today.
“I am speechless,” said Karen Hama. “Words cannot express how touched and grateful I am for this honor. There are many great teachers out there, so this is such a surprise.”
“She was the best teacher I have ever worked with in all my 25 years teaching experience,” Mr. Sprigen said. “She always worked so well in collaborations with her colleagues, and brought forth new ideas to the table.”
“Her idea to have a standardized Pre-K program changed the dynamics of Kindergarten classrooms throughout the district, and because of this, students test scores in Reading and Math have improved over 50 percent,” Principal Marcus Duque of Calle de Toledo Elementary School stated after the ceremony.
“I always felt we had a very open communication between Ms. Hama and my family,” stated Margorie Gardner, a parent of one of her students. “It helped all of us to be on the same page and work together for our son.”
One of her Kindergarten students, Alexis Hilty said, “ I love Ms. Hama, she always makes school fun! I can’t wait to go to school to see what we’re going to learn today.”
“I am so happy for my mom”, her daughter, Lauren said. “She works so hard, and always goes the extra mile. Now it’s finally paid off for her,”
Calle de Toledo Elementary School Teacher Karen L. Hama will be officially named the 2015 National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony on October 26, 2015.
Nice job! It looks like you strive for communication with your students, parents, and administrators as a whole. It seems as if you try to be creative and innovative, and bring your colleagues in on your ideas. It's true, I believe pre-k programs are crucial to success in Kindergarten, and it shows in your test scores! Overall good article, good quotes from supporting characters, and I like how you included things like the symphony orchestra and president!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Karen, for bringing these qualities to your classroom everyday, teacher award or not. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great article Karen. I am really impressed with your style of writing. I really felt like I was reading an article from the newspaper. I also believe teachers need to colaborate with each other to learn from each other and learn how to teach students. Thank you for your comment; it was really encouraging.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I'm really enjoying reading all these teacher of the year posts. Sounds like you have a great report with the kids, and you also stress standardardized testing and collaboration. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteWay to get into character, good job. Great! You included a fancy dinner and music. I like how you include parent and student opinion in this possible scenario. 2015 look out, take it all the way to the White House! I think you have the right attitude.
ReplyDelete