The New Mexico Public Education Department has announced that Dr. Roy Basa is the recipient of the 2024 New Mexico Teacher of the Year award. As a result, Dr. Basa will represent teachers from New Mexico at the national level for the 2024 National Teacher of the Year competition.
Dr. Basa is known for employing project-based learning and community collaboration in his teaching methods, thereby creating an educational environment that encourages problem-solving, teamwork, and culturally and linguistically responsive approaches. The New Mexico Teacher of the Year Program, which was initiated in 1963, welcomes nominations from all school districts and charter schools annually, according to a press release by the New Mexico Public Education Department.
"To know that I am the New Mexico 2024 Teacher of the Year, I’m really speechless," said Basa in a press release issued by the department. "All I want to say is thank you so much to all the people who are involved and who are with me in this journey. This is a journey to grow and learn, and I can use this to be a forever learner."
New Mexico Secretary of Education Arsenio Romero also praised Dr. Basa's work: "Dr. Basa, you exemplify what it means to be a teacher, but not just any teacher, but a teacher in New Mexico who is doing amazing things with a population of students that need you," Romero said in the same press release. "Thank you for what you do and continue to do what you do, and now you get to represent every educator in New Mexico to make us all better."
The mission of the New Mexico Public Education Department involves preparing all students for college, career, and life through collaborations with educators, communities, and families. Their mission statement emphasizes their commitment towards creating a culturally responsive educational system that meets social, emotional, and academic needs of students as per information available on their About webpage provided by the state of New Mexico.
