“Surprise! Congratulations Juliana Urtubey on being named the 2021 National Teacher of the Year! I am very happy to be able to celebrate and honor you in person. All of us at the White House thank you for the joy you bring to your students, their families, and everyone who has met you ”, wrote Jill Biden on her social networks.
Urtubey posted on her account on Twitter: “Thank you, Dr. Biden, it was an honor to meet you and share this moment with you. My students will be very happy when they see this.”
Juliana Urtubey, who has taught classes for 11 years, is a teacher at Kermit R. Booker Sr. Innovative Elementary School in Las Vegas.
There she works “as a co-teacher in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade special education settings and as an instructional strategist who develops supports to meet the different academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs of students,” according to the National Teacher’s website. of the Year from the Council of State School Trustees (CCSSO).
The CCSSO describes her as “a first-generation bilingual immigrant (who) loved school. Attracted to teaching through a high school teacher leadership academy, I knew it would be important to be a bilingual teacher.
He adds: “Now as National Teacher of the Year 2021, Juliana works to serve as a mirror for her school community, helping students to be proud of their identities and their families, and to recognize their strengths and contributions to the community.”
The teacher is known as “Senora Tierra”, “for her efforts to beautify schools and unify the community through murals and gardens.”
According to the award page, “As National Teacher of the Year, Juliana plans to advocate for a ‘just and joyful education’ for all students, one that is inclusive and celebrates the identities, families and communities of all students.”
She is the first National Latinx Teacher of the Year since at least 2005.
Juliana Urtubey holds a BA in bilingual elementary education and an MA in bilingual special education from the University of Arizona. She was also the winner of the Rogers Foundation Heart of Education Award in 2018.