Posted on October 7, 2024 by Katelyn Juarez
Ms. Melissa Farias Zúñiga presented with a banner for being named one of six state finalists for the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Texas Teacher of the Year Award
UTSA Bicultural-Bilingual Master’s student Melissa Farias Zúñiga was named one of six state finalists for the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) Texas Teacher of the Year Award. This honor recognizes her among the top educators in the state.
The Texas Teacher of the Year Award is the highest honor that the State of Texas can present to a teacher. This annual award recognizes educators who demonstrate outstanding leadership and excellence in the classroom, making significant contributions to the education profession.
Each year, around 2,400 district elementary and secondary Teachers of the Year from nearly 1,200 school districts across Texas apply to advance to the regional level. From this group, 40 teachers are selected as Education Service Center (ESC) Regional Teachers of the Year, including Zúñiga, who was named the Region 20 Secondary Teacher of the Year for her dedication to her students and community. Among the regional winners, six educators are chosen as state finalists, and one of them will go on to represent Texas in the national competition.
“Being named Region 20 Secondary Teacher of the Year and now a 2025 Texas Teacher of the Year Finalist brings joy to my heart for all the hard work and dedication my team of district educators and I have been able to accomplish together,” Zúñiga said.
Zúñiga, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and interventionist, has the privilege of working with a myriad of educators and exploring the connections across all genres of education and life.
“These recognitions are a great honor I humbly accept on behalf of all the extraordinary teachers who have mentored and partnered with me along the way and provided tremendous support and opportunities for my personal growth as a teacher and person,” Zúñiga said.
These recognitions are not the first for Zúñiga. She was named Teacher of the Year for New Braunfels High School Ninth Grade Center in the 2017-18 school year, and as New Braunfels High School and District Teacher of the Year for New Braunfels ISD for the 2023-2024 school years. Beyond the classroom, Zúñiga serves as the coordinator for NBISD’s Title III Secondary Family Engagement Night, oversees ESL classes and services at New Braunfels High School, and is a partner and mentor to secondary ESL teachers across the district.
Zúñiga is set to graduate this fall with her Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. She decided to pursue a graduate degree in ESL because as she continued to teach, her curiosity grew about what she didn’t know, “I realized that I had reached a point in my practice where my personal life experience and ‘toolbox’ could not answer the many questions I had about teaching English as a second language,” said Zúñiga.
With a deep passion for teaching, Zúñiga wanted to bring a respected voice to the field of teaching ESL. Zúñiga chose UTSA to continue her education and quest for more knowledge because it offered the experience and support of in-person learning as well as the convenience of online courses that worked with her full-time schedule. Zuniga reflects that, “My time at UTSA has been a phenomenal journey of learning and growth for both me and my students. This educational opportunity has opened our eyes to new possibilities for greater understanding and lifelong engagement across cultures and boundaries.”
Zúñiga did not experience the traditional route to becoming an educator. At the tender age of 13, she began teaching ballet folklorico (Mexican folk dance) at a dance school her mother founded in New Braunfels.
Zúñiga also expressed that the experiences she had with her own children in public education drew her to the profession, “I fell in love with this pillar of our community as a supportive center of creativity, learning, and growth, and the important role teachers and educators played in the lives of their students and families,” Zúñiga said.
As time passed, Zúñiga was presented with the opportunity to join the public education field as an ESL paraprofessional, then earned her alternative teaching certification to begin her career as an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher.
“Through this time, I discovered an interest in working with emergent bilingual students and a natural talent in taking their life stories, strengths, and challenges, and guiding their own growth and development through our school system and community,” said Zúñiga.
Zúñiga’s colleagues and principal noticed the passion she had for bilingual students and offered her the opportunity to look closer at the role and impact of ESL in the school. After three years of being an ELA teacher, Zúñiga transitioned to teaching ESL.
For the past 10 years, Zúñiga has been an educator in New Braunfels ISD and has spent the last six years as an ESL teacher.
Pursuing a master’s degree has been a tremendous endeavor for Zúñiga. This opportunity has allowed her to continue excelling as a classroom teacher and to confidently work as a mentor on her campus and across the district. “I hope to continue to expand our district’s [NBISD] best practices in the ESL program and to bring a higher recognition and understanding of the diverse cultures, traditions, knowledge, and strengths of our many wonderful emergent bilingual students and their families,” Zúñiga said.
The ultimate goal for Zúñiga is to create an empowered community working together to guide emergent bilingual students to reach their full potential academically and personally.
As her curiosity and passion for teaching ESL continues to deepen, Zúñiga plans on pursuing a Ph.D. in Bilingual-Bicultural Studies at UTSA in the near future.
— Katelyn Juarez
