MIAMI – Two teachers from high schools in Hialeah and Carol City won Miami-Dade County Public School’s top awards during a Thursday night ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center.
Vanessa M. Valle, an English teacher from Hialeah Gardens Senior High School, received the Francisco R. Walker Teacher of the Year award. Kalyn Lee, a teacher from Miami Carol City Senior High School, won the Rookie Teacher of the Year award.
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Daisy Gonzalez-Diego, a spokeswoman for the M-DCPS, described Valle as a “deeply committed advocate for young people."
According to Gonzalez-Diego, Valle is a mentor of the Take Stock in Children program and the Real Talk mental health support group at her school.
“She spearheaded the inception of the very first National Academies Foundation Law Academy in the nation and has worked tirelessly to bring a campus courtroom to her school,” Gonzalez-Diego said in a statement.