San Luis principal honored for commitment to education
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – Omar Duron, principal of Southwest Junior High School, was honored Friday for his commitment to learning in a surprise presentation of a national educators award that included a $25,000 check.
In an event that brought together teachers and students from the school, fellow principals and officials in the Gadsden Elementary School District and Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman, Duron received the Milken Educator Award
from the California-based Milken Family Foundation.
Duron is among 40 educators across the nation to receive the honor this year and the first-ever from Yuma County to get it.
Duron, who began his career in education as a teacher in the Gadsden district in 2002, said the award reflected the commitment of the school and of the community to education.
“This community made me,” he told onlookers after receiving the award. “I grew up here, and for me it is important to give back something from all that I have received. We have worked together to improve what we do for our students, and this award is for everyone.”
The Milken Family Foundation chose Duron for the award based on consultations with the Arizona Department of Education, educational organizations that included the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, and based on other criteria.
“In 1998 I wanted to celebrate and recognize the great teachers by creating this award,” said Lowell Milken, the foundation president who came to Southwest Junior High School for the presentation. “We look for people who are strong instructional leaders, who are mentors for other teachers and who have invested in the community. This award is earned by being an outstanding educator.”
Milken said he was prompted to create the award by the lack of recognition educators receive compared with other professions.
“Most young people see in the media like television figures in entertainment or sports receiving some kind of honor, but teachers generally are not part of that.
“We ask teachers and principals to educate youth to have a bright future, but we don’t recognize the important work that they do.”
The money can be used however the honorees choose, he said, and typically they use it to cover the costs of their own educations or that of their children.
Duron said he plans to apply it toward technology upgrades at the school or toward professional development for the teaching staff.
Milken said another purpose of the award is to motivate young people to consider education as a career and to inspire current teachers in their careers.
Duron, 39, emigrated from Mexico as a child and began attending Gadsden district schools in third grade. He graduated from Kofa High School and received his bachelor’s degree in education from Northern Arizona University in 2004 and his master’s in education administration in 2016, also from NAU.
He said one of the greatest satisfactions he derives from education is to see academic progress being made by students, many of whom are natives of Mexico who are learning English as their second language.
“I try to establish a connection with them, tell them that they are going to be all right, that they need to have patience, that they are going to learn. I was there, I have the same fear of the unknown, of a new language, of a change of culture.”