Adrian Alvarez, a science teacher at Grand Canyon School, is Coconino County’s Teacher of the Year.

She is passionate about her role in shaping young lives,  “I believe that education is a fundamental right and it's my responsibility to find the best ways to support our students so that they have that amazing foundation to move forward.”

She has more than 20 years’ experience as a teacher and has been teaching at Grand Canyon for eight years.  She teaches all disciplines of science for middle school as well as high school environmental science.

Alverez said, “I've had a variety of roles in education including positions as an instructional aide a behavioral tutor for students on the autism spectrum a substitute teacher a stem enrichment teacher an outdoor educator and a certified classroom teacher in pre-K through 12th grades as well as adult education and professional development.”

She was honored at an awards ceremony on April 9 hosted by the Coconino County Education Service Agency. “I was just thrilled to be in the room with such amazing people my fellow nominees and finalists were just you know incredible educators and it was such a great celebration of education in general I was just overjoyed with the idea of being a part of these amazing teams and that's really what comes to mind.”

Alvarez said the combination of students, their families and the school’s location creates unique opportunities, “ I have such a great support system of students and families also our connection to nature, living inside of a national park you have this additional responsibility to advocate for environmental awareness for justice centered phenomena and being mindful of our impact on the world.”

Alvarez grew up in the Phoenix area and went on to teach in the Cartwright District and then in California before coming to the Grand Canyon School District. Along with the title, Alvarez was awarded a one-year lease on a new Toyota Camry.