‘I believe in public schools’: Middle school educator wins Miami-Dade Teacher of the Year
The red carpet was rolled out Tuesday evening for the annual Miami-Dade Teacher of the Year event, which celebrates passionate teachers in the district.
Vivian Ventura, an accomplished musician and orchestra teacher at Southwood Middle School, was named the 2026 Francisco R. Walker Teacher of the Year. Taking the stage at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport & Convention Center, she received a 2025 Toyota Corolla, a $3,500 cash prize, and a gift basket.
Francisco R. Walker, the namesake of Miami-Dade’s annual Teacher of the Year award, was a sixth-grade science teacher at Miami Edison Middle when he was stabbed to death by a trespassing 18-year-old in 1982.
As Ventura’s name was announced, her son yelled out, “That’s my mom.”
As she took the podium, she was smiling.
“I believe in public schools, I am going to fight for you in every way that I can,” said Ventura.
Ventura also honored all of the other teachers in her company.
“It is clear that teaching is a collective effort, and I am honored to stand among you,” she said.
She also acknowledged that teaching is not always easy, using Beethoven as an example of resilience amid difficult circumstances. Beethoven, despite many challenges including hearing loss, composed one of his best symphonies while he was deaf.
Ventura described Beethoven’s resilience as “a testament to hope, unity, and brotherhood.”
“It reminds us that in the face of diversity, we can achieve amazing things.”
A week before the event, Ventura told a fellow teacher that she had gone to Macy’s to purchase a $60 gown since she did not own one. Thank goodness she did.
Now, she is celebrated as the best teacher out of the nearly 18,000 teachers in the Miami-Dade school district, the third largest in the nation. She sparkled in her green gown as she spoke to the crowd and thanked her community for their support.
Ventura is a multi-instrumentalist whose main instrument is the violin. You can tell from how she speaks about music and her students that she truly loves teaching.
“Violin is home,” said Ventura, who has been teaching music for 21 years.
Ventura, who is also a mother of three, was watching her children play outside while speaking on the phone with a Miami Herald reporter. Throughout the conversation, she transitioned from watching her kids to taking her son to the doctor’s office for a fractured thumb he broke while trying out for the baseball team.
Amidst parenting and teaching orchestra at Southwood Middle School, she has also managed to turn a long-neglected piano lab into a functioning piano lab where students can work on composing music. And she also raised enough money to replace the long-neglected instrument lockers at Southwood Middle School.
Some of her students have gone on to attend the Julliard School of Music, and her middle school musicians were invited to play music at Carnegie Hall.
Who are the other award winners?
Superintendent of Schools Jose Dotres spoke at the Teacher of the Year event, reflecting upon conversations he had with each of the runners-up.
“They are being recognized not necessarily for what they teach and the content they deliver, but rather how they connect with each of their students,” he said.
Leroy Douglas, an appliance and refrigeration repair teacher at Robert Morgan Technical College, was named the runner-up for the award. He is a prime example of a teacher who creates special relationships with his students.
Douglas was named the runner-up for this year’s Teacher of the Year.
Douglas says he treats all of his students as if they were his own children, always pushing them to do their best.
“My students are like family, I don’t ever let them down,” he said.
At the event on Tuesday, over 1,000 attendees enjoyed dinner while watching videos of the nominees on screens in the ballroom.
Music blared, students performed, colleagues and family members cheered on the teachers from the schools – throwing confetti into the air, ringing noisemakers, and taking photos.
The winner for Rookie Teacher of the Year is Nikolas Venegas, a first-grade teacher from Avocado Elementary School in Homestead.
“My heart is overflowing with appreciation and gratitude,” said Venegas, who shared his appreciation for Jesus who he called “the greatest teacher.”
He also thanked his parents in Spanish for everything they sacrificed for him.
On his way home after the evening, he said “I‘m feeling excited truly honored and blessed. It’s a true privilege to represent the community.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 7:00 AM with the headline "‘I believe in public schools’: Middle school educator wins Miami-Dade Teacher of the Year."
