Texas Border Business
Rio Grande Valley, Texas – IDEA Edinburg College Preparatory’s AP Human Geography teacher, Amanda Calderon, has been awarded the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction from the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).
Ms. Calderon was nominated by one of her students for her outstanding dedication and commitment to excellence in her profession. Each year, student members of NSHSS are invited to nominate an educator who has made the most significant contribution to their academic career.
“I feel so incredibly honored to have received this award, especially from my students,” says Medina. “I always build a relationship with my students when they walk through my classroom door, and from there, they are motivated to push themselves to surpass the limits in my class. Being a course leader at my campus, I find ways to have students engaged in my class while still having fun. I teach them material that can be used in the real world so that they are driven to better understand not just in my class, but in all places outside of school.”
Ms. Calderon has been with IDEA Public Schools for eight years and is the first to be recognized for this NSHSS award. She is a master teacher at IDEA Edinburg College Preparatory and has also been the first at teacher at her school to accomplish 50% of her scholars to meet their AP goal, scoring above 2 on their final AP exams in AP Human Geography. Ms. Calderon prides herself in in putting her students first before herself.
When asked why student, Joel Quintanilla, selected Ms. Calderon for this award, his answer was “because she made a genuine effort to get to know me for who I am, and I truly enjoyed her class. She pushes me every day.”
Nominations for the NSHSS Educators of Distinction award are accepted year-round. Since the program began in 2007, almost 50,000 educators have been recognized worldwide.
