The Smith Center for the Performing Arts recognized more than 700 Clark County School District (CCSD) educators as part of its sixth-annual Heart of Education Awards, made possible by The Rogers Foundation.
The awards program celebrates outstanding CCSD educators who go above and beyond for their students, both in and out of the classroom. With the traditional red-carpet ceremony at the center’s Reynolds Hall sidelined again this year due to COVID-19, The Smith Center worked with CCSD officials to inform all finalists and safely present awards to the winners with surprise in-classroom presentations.
Award presentations and individual teacher stories will be highlighted this year in a special one-hour broadcast on Vegas PBS Channel 10, on May 23, at 8 pm.
This year’s 20 Heart of Education Award recipients each received special recognition with a commemorative Heart of Education medallion, in addition to a cash award of $5,000. Each winner’s school also received a $1,000 donation benefitting a program of the teacher’s choice.
The 2021 award recipients include:
- Hernan Aguirre, William E. Snyder Elementary School
- Sarah E. Alsterlind, Shelley Berkley Elementary School
- Joel M. Bradley, Jerome Mack Middle School
- Milton Castellanos, Northwest Career and Technical Academy
- Sarah Cooper, Southeast Career and Technical Academy
- Christiana M. Diaz Caballero, Myrtle Tate Elementary School
- Sarah M. Dlouhy, Tyrone Thompson Elementary School
- Nicole Hunt, Wilbur and Theresa Faiss Middle School
- Xiaowei Hunt, Ed W. Clark High School
- Jamie Huston, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts
- Cassandra N. Jones Barcelo, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts
- Mike D. Lang, Laura Dearing Elementary School
- Jeremy S. Lawson, Desert Pines High School
- Brenda J. McNair, Dorothy Eisenberg Elementary School
- Christine M. Mecham, Lied STEM Academy
- Kristan Noelle Nigro, Steve Schorr Elementary School
- Nicole Pate, Del Sol Academy of the Performing Arts
- Jose Israel Ramirez Gamez, Spring Valley High School
- Anna D. Stein, Marion B. Earl Elementary School
- Amy B. Zeiders, Lorna J. Kesterson Elementary School
Inspired by a teacher-recognition program hosted at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., The Heart of Education Awards celebrates outstanding teachers from CCSD schools.
The nomination process, which closed in February, invited nominated applicants to share personal accounts of how they positively impacted their students and schools.
For more information about The Heart of Education Awards, visit their website.
