Woodburn educator named 2023 Oregon Teacher of the Year

Local educator Rosa Floyd has been named Oregon's 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Floyd, who teaches dual-immersion kindergarten at Nellie Muir Elementary School in Woodburn School District, was surprised by the news and celebrated during an early morning staff meeting Wednesday.

Educators filled the bleachers in the Woodburn High School gymnasium as the school's mariachi band performed.

When they announced Floyd as the recipient, it seemed everyone in the audience — hundreds of educators — stood. They clapped and cheered as she made her way to the lectern and wiped tears from under her glasses.

Nellie Muir principal Oscar Belanger began a call-back chant.

"When I say 'Rosa,' you say 'Floyd,'" he cheered. "Rosa!"

"Floyd!"

"Rosa!"

"Floyd!"

Oregon Department of Education director Colt Gill and Gov. Kate Brown joined Woodburn Superintendent Joe Morelock in honoring Floyd.

"This teacher leads and inspires colleagues, is a talented mentor and coach, and is always willing to generously share her passion, knowledge and expertise, and, I'm told, also a few dance steps," Gill said.

The festivities continued as Floyd's folk dance group, Cosecha Mestiza, performed. The community group consists of about 20 adults and 70 students, many of whom Floyd has taught since kindergarten.

"I am very humbled," Floyd said to the crowd, taking a moment after to thank each person standing near her. "This is not for me. It's for all of us."

The Oregon Teacher of the Year is selected after an extensive application process. Nominees from schools throughout the state submit packets of information including testimonials and letters of support from administrators, students and colleagues, state officials said.

From the written material, applicants are assessed on leadership, instructional expertise, community involvement, understanding of educational issues, professional development and vision.

"I feel that my responsibility as a teacher is to be a bridge that connects our parents with the school system. When families are involved in their children's learning, children show improvement in academics, self-esteem, behavior, and attendance," Floyd wrote in her application.

"One of my fundamental beliefs about teaching is that it has the power to create unity within a family, classroom, school, and community," she said. "We always want to learn more about the culture of our students and their families and for them to realize the great impact that families have in this community. This learning and appreciation for different cultures and traditions will help our students to live with and understand other people."

From architect to educator

Floyd was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. She received her bachelor's degree in folkloric dance and her graduate degree in architecture and interior design from the University of Guadalajara, according to an ODE news release.

Floyd continued her studies in Spanish language and literature in Spain. She worked in the audiovisual department at the Universidad de Guadalajara designing secondary instructional materials for a state educational program.

When she moved to the United States nearly 30 years ago, Floyd told members of the news media Wednesday, she saw the need for native language teachers.

"I went through the same struggle that my students are going through," she said. "I came when I was older. My English was very basic, and I had to learn the language and learn about the culture."

Floyd eventually worked as an instructional assistant at a migrant summer school and high school in Hillsboro. Seeing the needs of Spanish-speaking students at the high school led her to pursue a teaching license, the release states.

She taught in an immersion Spanish program at a private school in Oregon for six years before she was recruited by Woodburn School District.

Of Woodburn School District's 5,391 students in 2020-21, 86% identified as Hispanic/Latino. Of the teachers, 62% did as well. About 92% of students at Nellie Muir Elementary in the same year identified as Hispanic/Latino.

Floyd commutes every day from Portland. She has taught in the district for 22 years.

"I see the need to integrate our students and be aware of their needs — emotionally, socially — and also support ... each other," Floyd said. "Lately, it's been hard. But I think that if you put in more of your heart and all your expertise, working with other teachers, we can help our students and we can see the differences we can make in their lives."

In the running for National Teacher of the Year

As the 2023 Oregon Teacher of the Year, Floyd will serve as a spokesperson and representative for all Oregon teachers.

She will also receive year-long professional development and networking with other state Teachers of the Year through the Chief Council of State School Officers' National Teacher of the Year program, state officials said. She is also now in the running for the National Teacher of the Year.

The last Oregon teacher to win the national recognition was then-Prineville science teacher Michael Geisen in 2008.

"The best teachers meet their students where they are –– they know their passions, struggles and aspirations. Especially those who have walked in their students' shoes," Brown said in her remarks. "Rosa Floyd recognizes the critical need for students to see themselves reflected in their teachers, and their communities reflected in their classrooms."

The Oregon Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education in partnership with the Oregon Lottery.

Floyd on Wednesday received along with the recognition a $10,000 cash award to use however she pleases. A matching $5,000 is also awarded to Nellie Muir Elementary. Floyd told the Statesman Journal she doesn't have plans for the money just yet.

When Floyd was celebrated as Regional Teacher of the Year in September — one of 16 across Oregon — she also received $1,000. That prize, she said, was donated to her dance students.

Nominate outstanding educators for the 2024 Oregon Teacher of the Year by visiting oregonteacheroftheyear.org.

Natalie Pate covers education for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at npate@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6745. Follow her on Twitter @NataliePateGwin.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Woodburn educator Rosa Floyd named 2023 Oregon Teacher of the Year