June 2025

Netallia Rush began her journey in education after becoming a mother because she wanted a career where the skills she developed professionally could support her in her parenting.  

“I knew that being a parent was going to be a new responsibility,” she said. “My daughter activated my desire to be a teacher.” 

Years later, Rush stepped onto the stage of the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House to the applause of her peers to accept the Dallas ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year award at the State of the District. 

“When I heard my name, I was in awe,” Rush said. “Throughout the interview process last year, I continued to remind myself to be confident in my abilities and to show up as the best version of myself. I’m proud of myself because I was able to achieve something that in my heart, I knew I could do.”  

Rush is a fifth-grade teacher at Ronald Erwin McNair Elementary School and has plans to leave a legacy of optimism for teachers and students in the district. She also hopes to encourage others to pursue their passions.  

“I would tell someone to never let anything stand in the way of going after what they love to do. That is the biggest reminder that I’ve had from this experience,” she said. “I love teaching, and I love learning. If I am able, I want to spread that self-belief to others.” 

During her first year of teaching, Rush was motivated by the ways her presence had a positive impact on the students and the way they learned.  

This year, when her students faced moments of doubt, Rush reminded them of Thomas the Tank Engine. Inspired by the lesson in the children’s book The Little Engine that Could, she encouraged her students to approach daily challenges with an “I think I can” mindset.  

“My students get to have a teacher who exemplifies what it means to think big,” she said. “I’m able to show them through my actions that they don’t have to be afraid to try new things or put themselves out there.”  

Rush attended college in Mississippi, completing a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Jackson State University and a master’s in reading and literacy from Belhaven University. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership at The University of Texas at Dallas.  

Rush said she is a scholar at heart and loves to serve the communities she is part of. She carries out this passion as a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and by serving as the fifth-grade team lead at her school, coordinating events and programs.  

“I like to make sure that every teacher’s voice is heard. My leadership style is to make sure that I’m fair and collaborative when working with other teachers,” Rush said. 

As a teacher, Rush has created a classroom environment where students can feel comfortable confiding in her about the obstacles they face while learning.  

She closed out the school year with a project inspired by the reality show Shark Tank. The students built social, reading, and persuasive skills while learning about entrepreneurship. 

“I love to create enriching experiences for my students,” she said. “I believe that great teachers recognize the potential of their students from the beginning. No matter where they are academically, we work to help them improve.” 

With the school year ending and the energy of an evening at the Winspear Opera House giving way to the excitement of summer break, Rush was already looking ahead.  

As she prepared for another year at McNair Elementary, she carried with her not just memories of that special night, but also the distinction of the award  

“This award has opened up a lot of doors. It’s a big achievement to represent the district in this way,” she said. “This is just the beginning for me. There’s so much more I still hope to achieve. I would encourage teachers to remember that there are many paths to your goals, and that it’s important to stay open-minded to the possibilities that come your way.” 

Photo Courtesy of Jazzella McKeel, The JNM Creative Agency

Valerie Tagoe, media specialist at Woodrow Wilson High School, was recently elected 2025 division president-elect of the Young Adult Library Services Association, a part of the American Library Association. Tagoe will begin her three-year term as president-elect in July, becoming president starting in July of 2026, and remain active on the board for one more year as past president in 2027.

“I would like to thank the members who voted in the election,” Tagoe said. “As president-elect, I look forward to working with the board in the years to come to ensure that YALSA continues to serve its members and provide them with the resources and information they need to serve teens across the country and internationally.”

The mission of the association is to help those working in libraries to alleviate the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens, especially those with the greatest needs, on the path to successful and fulfilling lives.

Tagoe has been involved with YALSA by serving as the editor for The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, serving as a director on YALSA’s board, and serving as the chair of the Organization & Bylaws Committee, among other activities. 

For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to www.ala.org/yalsa.

Stephanie Amaya, principal of W.H. Adamson High School, said she was shocked when her name was announced as the Secondary Principal of the Year at this year’s State of the District.   

“I was honestly surprised,” she said. “I think we have so many great educators in our district, so many principals who deserve this award. We have great leadership in our district where people really care about our kids and will do everything to make sure their schools are successful. All our principals are really deserving.”   

Amaya, who was recently named executive director over the Moisés E. Molina vertical team, has devoted her career to turning around schools and creating academic opportunities for students with little access to them. As W.H. Adamson’s principal, she achieved the #1 School Effectiveness Index in Dallas ISD, boosted P-Tech associate degrees from 19 in 2021 to 74 in 2024, secured a CCMR rate of 86%, and doubled Advanced Placement passing scores.

Her dedication to helping the most disadvantaged in the community was fueled by her parents’s example. In the ’80s, as the Salvadoran civil war raged, Amaya’s parents fled to the United States.Her father risked his life to get all his siblings safely out of the country, she said. Once here, the family lived in a household of 11 people, whom Amaya’s father supported through his work in construction and masonry while her mother cared for them.

“My dad was always working out of town, and so my mom took care of everyone. She was also very involved in our schools,” Amaya said. 

She attended several district schools and graduated from the School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center before studying bilingual education at the University of North Texas.   

After college, Amaya began her career as a teacher in kindergarten at Stevens Park Elementary School where she was asked to join a five-person turn-around team, a move  that would set a path for her career in Dallas ISD.   

“From the work that we did at Stevens Park, I was offered a position as part of a strategic staffing initiative to go to Boude Storey Middle School,” Amaya said. From there, she went to South Oak Cliff High School where she worked to boost graduation rates.  

In 2014, she became an assistant principal at Arthur Kramer Elementary School, where she was part of the founding team that made Kramer the district’s first International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme school.  

“That was exciting, and it was a great opportunity. In my first year at Kramer, with Principal Katie Eska, we accomplished six state distinctions for elementary schools. We worked with some phenomenal and innovative educators,” she said.   

Innovation drives Amaya’s vision. Where she has gone, she has introduced initiatives that enhance the learning experience for students. In addition to earning IB status and six distinctions, Kramer, Amaya said, was the first school in the district to pilot Social and Emotional Learning, to establish a paid-for Pre-K, and to create a SPED continuum for a Pre-K and Kinder collaborative.

“It was a great experience to be able to start all these different programs and see how they work,” she said. “We wanted to create and develop systems for all kids to learn.”

After spending two years at Kramer, Amaya pursued her principalship and went to Sylvia Mendez Crew Leadership Academy, formerly known as John Ireland Elementary. Within her first year at Sylvia Mendez, the school went from an F to a B rating.

“Our kids really deserved an experience of learning and growing. We really centered our work around the library. We had a school garden, which is now a community garden,” Amaya said. “We really pushed advocacy for our students and tried to connect them to real world issues and project-based learning.”

Thanks to the dedicated effort of its educators, and under Amaya’s leadership, Sylvia Mendez became the first expeditionary learning school in Texas. And though she  wasn’t there to see it, Amaya laid the groundwork for the school’s first A rating three years later.

“I was around people who had a passion for our students and our community. Sylvia Mendez is a great school with such great values,” Amaya said.

Amaya then briefly served as the principal of John Neely Bryan Elementary School and led it through the challenges of a pandemic.

“That was a lot of fun and challenging, but again, I was able to really surround myself with amazing educators who provided our students with the emotional, cultural, and academic support that they needed in order to progress,” Amaya said.

For the past four years, Amaya has been principal at Adamson High School, where many of the teachers are alumni who pour themselves into their work and their communities, she said.

“We have a lot of our own teachers that bring their students here. That says a lot about the trust that there is among our teachers, the trust between teachers and leadership, and the trust that we have with the community,” Amaya said.  

Amaya feels proud of the many accomplishments Adamson High School boasts including 18 robust programs, a principal of the year, a teacher finalist in the HEB Excellence in Education Award, a flagship store, a memorial garden, and growing appeal to international students.   

“People are seeking us out,” Amaya explained. “We’ve had students come from Canada, Romania, Scotland. When our parents see the programs that we’re offering and what we’re doing, they’re like, ‘I moved into this neighborhood because of Adamson.’ That’s a great feeling.”

Dallas ISD coaches are leaders on the field and in the lives of the student athletes they interact with. Recently, several of the district’s coaches were recognized for their work at the Department of Athletics’ end-of-year gathering. 

Juan Rivas, athletic coordinator at Bryan Adams High School, was named High School Athletic Coordinator of the Year. Rivas is the school’s boys’ basketball coach and is in his third year as the school’s athletic coordinator. He had served as the assistant athletic coordinator since 2018.

Now in his 17th year in Dallas ISD, Rivas has improved the boys’ basketball team’s win total each of his first five seasons and guided it to the playoffs in the 2017-2018 for the first time in six years. The team’s 20 wins in 2018-2019 were the most at Bryan Adams since the 1990s. The 2019-2020 team also qualified for the playoffs.

Prior to coming to Bryan Adams, Rivas was an assistant boys’ basketball coach for six years at Woodrow Wilson High School, his alma mater. Rivas played basketball and was a member of the track and field team at Woodrow Wilson and played basketball at Dallas Christian College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science.

Rivas is a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association, the Dallas Coaches Association, and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. He has been a board member of the DCA since 2021.

Also at the event Lakita Dockery, assistant athletic coordinator at W.T. White High School, was named High School Assistant Athletic Coordinator of the Year; Paul Boyd, athletic coordinator at J.L. Long Middle School, was named Middle School Athletic Coordinator of the Year; and Nellasha Davis, athletic trainer at Bryan Adams High School was honored with the Phil Francis Making a Difference Award, which recognizes the athletic trainer of the year.

The event also honored athletic coordinators, coaches, and trainers retiring this year: Cherry DeLeon, assistant athletic coordinator, W.W. Samuell High School; James Mays, athletic coordinator and boys’ basketball coach, South Oak Cliff High School; and Dennis Landes, athletic trainer, Sunset High School. Also honored were Lyndon Love, head coach of boys’ basketball at David W. Carter High School, for 400 career victories; Nicke Smith, head coach of boys’ basketball at Justin F. Kimball High School, for 400 career victories; Pat Washington, head coach boys’ basketball at W.T. White High School, for 500 career victories.

Others who were recognized during the event were the regional coaches of the year for 2024-2025:

Region I

Derek Lewis, Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School
Etta Edwards, W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy

Region II

Cordell Hunter, Seagoville High School
Danese Baker, Young Men’s Leadership Academy At Fred F. Florence Middle School

Region III

Desireé Allen, North Dallas High School
Crystal Rexius, Thomas C. Marsh Preparatory Academy

Region IV

Ashley Greer, Lincoln High School (Co-Coach of the Year; state championship)
Nicholas Smith, Justin F. Kimball High School (Co-Coach of the Year; state championship)
Benny Dorrough, Dr. Frederick Douglass Todd Sr. Middle School

Patricia Cortez, recently named Choice/Magnet Teacher of the Year, knew from a young age she wanted to teach. She even has childhood mementos to prove it—including the drawing of a teacher and a photo of herself pretending to teach her kindergarten class.   

As Cortez made her way through Dallas ISD’s Casa View Elementary, Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy, and Skyline High School her desire to teach was nurtured by teachers who saw her potential.   

“I was a very shy child, and a lot of my teachers believed in me so much that they continuously pushed me to do better things,” Cortez said. “First, they pushed me to join the math club, and then, they pushed me to join the University Interscholastic League. It just gave me the feeling to want to go back and be a teacher myself and be that person for my students.” 

At The University of Texas at Arlington, Cortez majored in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on bilingual education and later pursued a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Texas Tech University. After graduate school, Cortez returned to Casa View to teach, coming full circle in her journey.   

“What really kept me wanting to pursue education was all the teachers that influenced me, all the teachers that were there for me,” she said.  

Cortez began doing her part in guiding students so they can also reach their full potential through robotics. Her robotics journey started when a colleague asked if she wanted to take part in a new Dallas ISD initiative, she said. 

“No way. I don’t want to do that,” she said to him. “I have no clue how to build a robot or anything like that. I have no engineering background.” 

Despite her initial reluctance, Cortez began comentoring the EagleBots in 2017, the school’s first coed robotics team, and three years later, at the request of two third-grade students, started mentoring an all-girls robotics team, the LadyBots.  

“A lot of the time in STEM, girls are pushed off to the side to do smaller tasks,” Cortez said. “All tasks are meaningful in robotics, but the girls are not working on the nitty gritty of robotics, like building and driving and programming.” 

 Though Cortez felt out of her depth mentoring an all-girls team, her students and coworkers believed she could do it and succeed. 

“The girls said, ‘It’s okay, we can all learn together. You always told us that we can learn anything, so let’s all learn together,’” Cortez said.  

Cortez and the four members of the LadyBots have made a name for themselves at the state and national level. Not only did they receive the Excellence Award and Teamwork Champion Award at the VEX IQ State Tournament, but they also competed in the 2023 Vex Robotics World Championships and took home the Girl Powered Award and the Build Award.  

“The LadyBots were honored for being so empowering to each other and for showing that girls do belong in STEM,” Cortez said.  

Cortez founded a new chapter of the LadyBots at the School for the Talented and Gifted in Pleasant Grove, where she now teaches sixth-grade world cultures and seventh-grade Texas history. This robotics team, which includes two of the original members from her previous school, is also leaving its mark, getting recognition at regional championships and ranking among the nation’s top robotics teams for its members’ exceptional skills.  

Even in the classroom Cortez brings history to life through STEM-inspired, hands-on activities. Not so long ago, she challenged her class to create artifacts from various eras in Texas history. One student used robotic pieces to build a diorama of Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Another built a railroad system and a cattle network to represent the era of cotton, cattle, and railroads. A third student designed an oil rig equipped with movable parts to simulate Spindletop gushing oil.  

“These kinds of activities are what they love most,” Cortez said. “They are thinking critically on how to solve this challenge.” 

This hands-on approach reflects Cortez’ teaching philosophy, and its emphasis on STEM integration in the curriculum, which fosters trust, and even embraces failure.

“We must create a culture that accepts that not everything is going to work. There is no right or wrong answer. Students need to embrace failure,” she said.  

Of her recognition as Dallas ISD’s Magnet Teacher of the Year she said: 

“It’s an absolute honor to be named Teacher of the Year for this amazing district that gave me so many opportunities and opened so many doors for me. It’s still surreal for me.” 

Cortez praises Dallas ISD for its commitment to extracurricular activities, which lay the groundwork for her career.  

“As an alumna and now a teacher, Dallas ISD has taught me to value extracurriculars and exposure to things that students aren’t normally exposed to,” she said. “That is what makes our students think out of the box. It helps us develop relationships with our students outside of the classroom to where they can have that trust in us, and once we have their trust, they work even harder in the classroom.”