Teachers from Hialeah Gardens, Carol City schools win Miami-Dade top awards

Vanessa M. Valle, a teacher at Hialeah Gardens Senior High School, left, and Kalyn Lee, a teacher at Miami Carol City Senior High School, right, won awards on Thursday night in Miami-Dade. (M-DCPS)

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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From left, Lawrence S. Feldman, Marta Pérez, Karla Hernandez-Mats, Perla Tabares Hantman, Vanessa M. Valle, Alberto M. Carvalho, Steve Gallon III, Mari Tere Rojas, Lubby Navarro and Martin Karp attend the ceremony Thursday night in Miami-Dade. (M-DCPS)

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.

From left, Lawrence S. Feldman, Marta Pérez, Karla Hernandez-Mats, Perla Tabares Hantman, Alberto M. Carvalho, Kalyn Lee, Steve Gallon III, Mari Tere Rojas, Lubby Navarro and Martin Karp pose for a photo on Thursday night in Miami-Dade. (M-DCPS)

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