Albuquerque Journal

NM’S TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Bilingual first grade teacher is 2nd charter school teacher to win

- BY CEDAR ATTANASIO

Albuquerqu­e charter school educator Alisa Cooper de Uribe named top teacher in the state.

SANTA FE — An Albuquerqu­e charter school educator has been named New Mexico Teacher of the Year.

Alisa Cooper de Uribe, a bilingual first grade teacher at New Mexico Internatio­nal School, is the second chart er school teacher to win the award in the program’s 57-year history.

As Teacher of the Year, Cooper de Uribe will promote profession­al developmen­t and serve as an example to her peers.

The selection comes as the coronaviru­s pandemic has compounded inequality among New Mexico’s students.

“Now that the boundaries between school, home and other areas of public life have shifted and blended in unexpected ways, an opportunit­y has arisen to advocate for newly visible needs in our state’s infrastruc­ture and equitable access to education,” Cooper de Uribe said earlier this month after being named one of four finalists.

A native of Raton, Cooper de Uribe says she was inspired to study languages by interactin­g with internatio­nal students as a youth. She will represent her state in the national Teacher of the Year competitio­n.

In a video call, Education Secretary Ryan Stewart read a series of testimonia­ls submitted as part of Cooper de Uribe’s applicatio­n for the award.

“Thank you for all of the incredible work that you’ve done, for the immense impact that you’ve had on your students, not only as they go through your first grade classroom, but as they progress on into the upper

grades and continue to bring that love and that passion that you’ve inspired into all that they do,” Stewart said.

New Mexico is home to 98 public charter schools that have been created since the 1990s. Funded by public dollars and subject to similar accountabi­lity rules as public schools, they are allowed to pursue alternativ­e curricula and governance structures.

Charter school leaders see Cooper de Uribe’s selection as continued support from the state.

“It’s a testament to the work we’ve done as public charter schools, and that we are public and we are reimaginin­g education,” said Matthew Pahl, executive director of Public Charter Schools of New Mexico.

Cooper de Uribe holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Abilene Christian University and a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College, the Public Education Department said.

She succeeds 2019 Teacher of the Year Mandi Torrez, a teacher at Placitas Elementary.

The New Mexico Oil and Gas Associatio­n is sponsoring the New Mexico Teacher of the Year program for the second consecutiv­e year, which includes a $25,000 grant to support profession­al developmen­t.

Unlike previous Teachers of the Year who have taken sabbatical­s, Cooper de Uribe will continue teaching at her school.

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Alisa Cooper de Uribe

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