A math teacher from Ash Fork Middle School was one of four Arizona teachers to receive the 2024 Esperanza Latino Teacher Award from Chicanos Por La Causa.
Erika Acosta received the award alongside Margaret Gallego, a second-grade bilingual teacher at Robinson Elementary in Tucson; Gabriel Robles, a social studies and economics teacher at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix; and Lilian Williams, who teaches third grade at Heatherbrae Elementary in Phoenix.
Each recipient was chosen because on "their passion, leadership and positive impact,鈥� and will be receiving a $5,000 cash award and $2,500 stipend for their schools.
The award website notes that Acosta moved from teaching kindergarten to middle school math 鈥渢o fill an urgent need in her school district.鈥� She is the district鈥檚 middle and high school volleyball and basketball coach, helps Spanish-speaking families with translation and taxes, and teaches Sunday school at her church.
鈥淢s. Acosta gives her time, energy and knowledge freely and without reservation to her students, their families and her community,鈥� the website says.鈥� 鈥�. [She] teaches her students in such an understandable and thorough way that her students consistently earn top scores in the district and throughout the state on standardized tests.鈥�
The Esperanza Latino Teacher Awards was established in 1998 and is the only award program in Arizona to specifically recognize Latino teachers, according to the announcement. The awards are sponsored by Cox Communications and SRP alongside Amazon, Arizona Bank & Trust, HUB and Southwest Airlines.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 Esperanza Award-winners come from unique experiences but are united in their dedication to student success beyond education,鈥� said聽Chicanos Por La Causa President and CEO Alicia Nunez. 鈥淟ilian, Gabriel, Margaret and Erika prove that being a teacher is more than a job. They are role models changing the trajectory of the next generation鈥檚 future. One class, one child, one life at a time.鈥�
More information is available at .