Celebrate the best educators in the Brazos Valley

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Teachers are often the unsung heroes of our community.

Once a year, a committee of educators, school administrators, and community leaders come together to recognize those teachers who go above and beyond at the Brazos Valley Educators Awards Night.

Event organizer, Natalyn Samuels, says this special event celebrates the people going above and beyond in the classroom and in their community.

“This award is for the people who are doing everything they can to make school a safe and encouraging place for our students,” she said.

Samuels is President of the Brazos Valley Alliance of Black Educators. She says being an educator is in her genes.

“My mother was an educator for 38 years, but I honestly fought it my first few years of college. I was like ‘no way I’m going to be working with kids for the rest of my life.’ But it just kept calling me and calling me, so I changed my major and went into education. Twenty-one years later, here I am, still in education,” she said.

Nominations for Brazos Valley Educators Awards are being accepted until Friday, March 31. If you have a standout educator in your life, you can nominate them for an award here.

“These awards are not just for teachers, not just principals. We all know that the most important person you need to make friends with is the receptionist, of course. If you know those paraprofessionals, those instructional assistants. We even opened it up for our auxiliary and maintenance crew because they keep our schools clean and safe,” Samuels said.

Awards will be given out at the Brazos Valley Educators Awards Night on Friday, June 2 at The Brazos Center.

The event will feature a formal dinner, keynote speeches, and the presentation of awards in various categories such as Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year, and Support Staff of the Year.

Tickets for the event will go on sale on Saturday, April 1, following the end of the nomination period. You’ll be able to purchase individual tickets for $40 and full tables for $300.

Proceeds from ticket sales will be used for the next round of Brazos Valley Educators Awards.

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