CU Boulder honors BVSD, SVVSD teachers through 'Best Should Teach' program

May 2—Vera Moreno-Hamm noticed very few Spanish speaking or Latina teachers when volunteering at University Hill Elementary, a nearby dual-language school, while she was a University of Colorado Boulder student.

Her experience there prompted her to pursue an education degree. After graduating, she went on to work at both University Hill and north Boulder's Columbine Elementary. Now a bilingual literacy interventionist at Columbine, she has taught in the Boulder Valley School District for more than 30 years.

"I wanted to work with students who look like me and for them to have a mentor or a person they could relate to that looked like them," she said.

Moreno-Hamm was one of three area teachers honored this week through CU Boulder's "Best Should Teach" initiative. Along with Moreno-Hamm, the St. Vrain Valley School District's Emily Fiebig and the Adams 12 School District's Tara Kawalec also received "Best Should Teach" awards.

"I'm glad that they acknowledge faculty and other educators," Moreno-Hamm said. "We need to lift the field of education, especially when there are so many forces pushing against it."

She was nominated by Boulder Valley Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships Bianca Gallegos, who was a student at Columbine when she first met Moreno-Hamm, then a student teacher. Gallegos remembers Moreno-Hamm as a teacher who "made me feel valued and included."

"I learned English at school," Gallegos said. "Vera valued my language and my family and my culture. She never saw it as something that needed to be corrected or overcome. She was ahead of her time."

Later, when Gallegos became the assistant principal and then principal at Columbine, Moreno-Hamm continued to serve as a mentor.

"She supported me as a new administrator," she said.

Moreno-Hamm said she chose University Hill and Columbine because she wanted to work with the Latino community.

"I love engaging with families and getting to know the students," she said. "I like to get to know the students not just academically, but as human beings. I want to connect with them beyond what we do at school every day."

She also co-leads a group of Columbine Elementary parents, saying getting to know the parents is "one of my favorite things."

Along with her bachelor's degree, she earned a master's degree from CU Boulder and a reading certification.

"I'm a learner," she said. "There's always something new to learn."

Fiebig, who teaches at Longmont's Northridge Elementary School, was teaching fifth grade when she lost her ability to walk following an illness and began using a wheelchair. Working as a classroom teacher became physically difficult, but she didn't want to leave teaching. So she switched to the interventionist role at her principal's suggestion.

She helps students with literacy, math and social and emotional needs, as well as coaching teachers. She's also the site leader for the school's gifted program. Finding ways to identify gifted students who, because of their language or background don't present "as the stereotypical gifted population," is one of her goals.

"That's become a real passion of mine," she said. "I want to help uncover those students so they get what they need."

She said she loves working at a school with a diverse population and earned a master's degree in culturally and linguistically diverse education to better support students.

"I truly believe that kids deserve the best, regardless of where they come from," she said. "They deserve to be loved and to feel worthy. My students know that they have a champion and have someone backing them that truly believes in them. That's why I show up every day."

She added that winning the award "caught me so off guard."

"It's really nice to be recognized amongst all of these other educators that are doing incredible things for education," she said.