Social studies teacher Alicia Montes sat in a faculty meeting Dec. 15, waiting for the principal to announce the teacher of the year, expecting to congratulate a coworker.
Principal Lloyd Turner started to introduce the teacher, building up for the big reveal. Montes still sat, unsuspecting. Then suddenly, the principal announced her name, and Montes was in disbelief.
“I sat in my seat for a moment, like, what do I do?” Montes said. “Then I started crying, and it was just an amazing moment for my whole family to be there to support me, and see a lifelong dream of mine [come true].”
Montes has been a teacher for 16 years, and for the past six, she’s been teaching U.S. History at Cy Woods. Teaching alongside her is coworker and friend Shannan Ross, who believes this was a well-deserved award.
“She has been such a phenomenal teacher when it comes to creating lessons,” Ross said. “She does a phenomenal job getting [sophomores] ready and making that transition from just being high school students to eventually becoming College Academy students.”
Junior Beverly Le recalls loving Montes’ U.S. History class sophomore year.
“She was just really engaging, she let all of us talk to her,” Le said. “And I’m a really shy person, but being in that class, I felt more like myself compared to other classes.”
Junior Thomas Robinson remembers the end of last year, when Montes hand-wrote a personalized letter to him and everyone else in his class.
“I like that she’s a really kind and caring teacher,” Robinson said. “And she doesn’t hesitate to accommodate your own personal needs in the classroom.”
Through all Montes’ years of teaching, one thing has constantly remained her favorite: having an upstanding relationship with her students.
“I love having students that I’ve had as 10th graders come back and see me as 11th graders and 12th graders,” Montes said. “And I love getting to see them grow and thrive, not just as students, but humans.”
