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Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year

Juliana Urtubey

2021 National Teacher of the Year
Juliana Urtubey
Nevada

School: Kermit R. Booker, Sr. Innovative Elementary School

Subject Area: Elementary Education, Special Education

Grade Level: PK-5

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Juliana Urtubey, a first-generation, bilingual immigrant, has worked throughout her teaching career to serve as a mirror for her school community, helping students to be proud of their identities and families, and to acknowledge their strengths and contributions to the community.

As 2021 National Teacher of the Year, Juliana advocates for a “joyous and just” education for all students, one that is inclusive and celebratory of all students’ identities, families and communities. Since being announced as National Teacher of the Year in May 2021, Juliana has shared her “joyous and just” message with pre-service teachers, educators and policymakers across the country – including at the White House – and through U.S. and international media, including People Magazine, the TODAY Show, Univision, Telemundo, and Colombia’s El Pais, El Espectador, and RCN Noticias.

Juliana, currently in her 11th year as an educator, teaches at Kermit R. Booker, Sr. Innovative Elementary School in Las Vegas, where she serves as a co-teacher in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade special education settings and as an instructional strategist developing supports to meet students’ differing academic, social-emotional and behavioral needs.

Known as “Ms. Earth” for her efforts to beautify schools and unify the community through murals and gardens, Juliana has helped raise funds for garden programs at two Las Vegas schools. In one program, the garden was tended to by the student “Garden Gnomies” club and offered opportunities for innovative student learning and intergenerational learning and connections to the wider community, who could purchase produce on an as-able donation basis or with volunteer hours.

Juliana is a National Board Certified Teacher and holds a bachelor’s degree in bilingual elementary education and a master’s degree in special bilingual education from the University of Arizona. She is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Board of Directors member and Teacher Fellow, a Nevada Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow, and an Understood Teacher Fellow and mentor. She is also a winner of the 2018 Rogers Foundation Heart of Education award.

 Juliana (HOO-lee-on-a ER-two-bay) enjoys reading in Spanish and traveling, and has had the opportunity to teach in Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Puerto Rico. She also enjoys tending to her collection of house plants and spending time outdoors, and she aims to visit all the National Parks.