Clovis teacher receives Milken Educator Award

CLOVIS — For Silvia Miranda, it all comes down to reading.

That was the case as she grew up in Portales, with a family and a series of teachers that influenced her to be the heavy reader she is today. And it’s the case in her job at Mesa Elementary, where she and other teachers have honed in on student reading ability and watched performance grow in every category.

It was the latter that culminated in Tuesday, when the fourth-grade teacher was New Mexico’s lone recipient of the Milken Educator Award.

The honor was announced in a surprise ceremony with New Mexico Public Education Secretary Christopher Ruszkowski at the school. Ruszkowski was at Mesa under the ruse the school was honored as part of the state’s Straight A Express.

Known by Teacher magazine as the Oscars of teaching, the Milken Educator Awards expects to honor about 40 educators this year, with each getting a prize of $25,000 with no conditions attached. Miranda still isn’t sure what to do with the money, but there are surely some family-related expenses with her husband, Elder, and two daughters — 12-year-old Jackie and 8-year-old Joanna. However, she does admit that Hawaii is on her bucket list.

Milken award winners are selected early to mid-career for what they have achieved and for the promise of what they will accomplish. In addition to the prize money and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 2,700 teachers, principals and specialists dedicated to strengthening education.

Miranda was born in Grand Junction, Colorado, and her family moved to Portales when she was 12. She’s taught fourth grade the last six years, but also taught kindergarten, first and second grades.

She’s a frequently requested teacher, and an experienced bilingual instructor who helps prepare students for the Spanish spelling bee. She’s also organized game tournaments and the school’s science fair for fourth- and fifth-graders.

She is a state ambassador to the New Mexico Teacher Leader Network and helped write the application for Mesa when it was named a Blue Ribbon School two years ago.

She comes highly recommended across the state and country, as well.

Q&A: Data driven and believing in her students

Silvia Miranda answered 10 questions from The News on Wednesday afternoon.

What has the last 24-plus hours been for you?

It’s been crazy and wonderful, all at once. The ceremony was absolutely unexpected, a complete surprise. Once I knew this wasn’t for the Straight A Express, my mind was thinking, “Who is it, who is it?” I was thinking of all of these teachers at Mesa who are dear friends of mine. After that, it was lots of craziness, lots of interviews. My phone blew up with all of these videos of Mesa. It was amazing to see Clovis in the spotlight for such a wonderful thing.”

What made you first want to be a teacher?

I think I’ve always known. I can’t pinpoint the reason why. Since I was little, I’ve always known. I’m a first-generation college grad. I tell parents, “Read to your kids at night.” My parents, without that education, knew that, and did that with me. Also, I had wonderful educators. Teachers pushed me. I wanted to be that for other kids.

Were there ever moments of doubt?

Never doubts. Hard moments? Absolutely, every day. Education is a career that changes daily. New practices, new research, new kids. This group of kids is very different from when I started.

What’s something you try to implement from one of your former teachers?

I hope I’ve emulated love for my kids. Every single classroom I went to as a kid, I always felt loved and challenged. They always believed in me, and never had the attitude of poor her. I hope that’s the one thing I can give my kids, knowing I believe in them and they can be wonderful assets to our society in the future.

What’s an aspect of teaching that’s changed since your early years?

Personally, the biggest difference now is the relationship teachers have with the Public Education Department. In my early years, I never had any interaction with the Public Education Department. Now, I have a working relationship. I think that has been life-changing in and of itself ... just that openness and transparency the PED has, and the unwavering support from my district.

What’s the best part of teaching?

The kids, hands down. Getting to go every day, see all of their personalities and know they love me as much as I love them.

And the biggest challenge of teaching?

Miranda: The kids. Each kid is different, and I try to address the whole child. I want to get to know them personally, how they think, what their interests are. There are 25 different students. Trying to accommodate their learning styles is difficult, in a good and hard way.

You were described by Milken as data-driven. How did you make data work for you and Mesa as a whole?

Data, to me, needs to come from a good source. With short-term and long-term assessments that (the PARCC exam) proves, we have different data points. Based on those points, I know where to meet my kids at. I monitor consistently. If the data isn’t changing, I know I need to do something different with my kids. Say a student comes in and ... they are not nearing proficiency. I can look at reports and see where they’re not being proficient and what standards they’re not meeting. I can address standards for that student so when they take the (test) again, they are prepared.

You’ll get to become a part of a pretty large network of distinguished educators. Is there anything you want to take from that opportunity to become a better teacher?

Teaching is not done alone. It’s not a career you can succeed at alone. I’m very excited about that aspect of the award. Through my different groups I’m part of, I’ve gotten to know others around our state who are wonderful. I’m excited to be able to have this opportunity on a national level. I cannot imagine what this means for my classroom.

Do you have any aspirations for administration positions, or teaching at the university level?

I love being in the classroom, and I love the opportunities we have to grow professionally while still staying in the classroom.