In less than a week, three significant statewide educator awards in the Southwest U.S. went to Grand Canyon University College of Education alumni.
All were honored for a similar reason: They care deeply about the kids.
“One of the most important things is to build relationships with student and their families,” said Nancy Orta, who on Sept. 28 was named the New Mexico Teacher of the Year for her work at East Picacho Elementary School in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
“The first weeks of school, that’s what I work on. It’s important they like the teacher, and students want to be respected and be liked, so it’s just building relationships. I say JUST, but it is the most important thing.”
Orta got her master's degree in education curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in reading from GCU in 2010. She used that passion for teaching reading strategies to dive into reading intervention programs, taking a 10-year break from the classroom.
She now teaches first grade, and the students she built a relationship with gathered on the school grounds waving pompoms as she was awarded the honor and $10,000 to promote education by New Mexico Public Education Secretary Mariana Padilla.
Orta was the final award-winner in one sterling week for GCU alumni: Patricia Messner (elementary education/early childhood education, 2010) won Arizona Rural Teacher of the Year on Sept. 22, and Katelyn Donaker (master's in early childhood education, 2024) won the Nevada Early Educator of the Year award on Sept. 24.
GCU College of Education Dean Dr. Meredith Critchfield was proud but not surprised. Her department has been busy the last couple of years compiling hundreds of similar local, state and national alumni honors.
“Garnering three statewide educator awards in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico in just one week is no coincidence,” she said. “It’s a reflection of the quality of these three educators and a testament to the impact of our programs.
“While our college serves many students across the United States, it’s our commitment to purpose-driven education that helps us see to it that our graduates don’t just enter classrooms as skilled teachers, but as passionate changemakers driven by service and excellence.”
Orta has been a teacher for 26 years, and New Mexico’s education department praised her work in in early childhood education and literacy, including sign language and handwriting.
She told media after her win that it’s important to show children love through kind words and extra time when they struggle.
“They had disguised the event as a recognition for attendance, then announced that that’s not what we were there for,” Orta said. “The kids were so excited. And I was completely surprised.”
Messner was also “shocked” and given the award for her great rapport with students, allowing them to “spread their wings and become stronger communicators, writers, artists, leaders, friends, co-workers and much more,” according to the Arizona Rural Teachers Association, who gave her the honor.
Messner says her little Arizona town of Pearce in a rural pocket of Southeast Arizona is often thought of as a ghost town. But in her work as a language arts teacher for grades 5-8, she doesn’t treat them any different than world leaders.
“They are willing to take risks because I respect them as individuals. And the one thing my students know is I got them – I’m not going to let them fall,” she said.
“It’s different when you are in a rural school. You don’t have the typical support and resources, so you have to get creative and think outside the box. You let them know there is more in this world than inside this box.
“We may be small, but we are mighty. Don’t feel like you are dismissed because you are all the way out here. You have a voice to speak your mind and be passionate about what you believe in.”
Donaker said the key to her win as a preschool teacher at Kate Smith Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada, is being part of a program that emphasizes social and emotional development of children.
She said she embeds social-emotional skills into her children’s day so they can learn to self-regulate and become successful when they enter the K-12 system.
“A lot of times when children don’t have a strong social-emotional development they get into school and find themselves struggling because they aren’t able to deal with situations, which can hurt their learning.”
She said she gives them strong methods, understanding the philosophies of early childhood education that she learned at GCU, to help them stay calm and communicate problems to be more successful in life.
“It all starts in pre-K,” she said.
Nevada Department of Education officials said Donaker showed a “view of people and the inherent goodness in people, and her seeing that in her youngest learners in her classroom,” was one reason that she’s a good advocate for early childhood education in Nevada.
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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