Schrade Middle School Instructor Named Region 10 Teacher of the Year
Article Date: August 31, 2007
Big Chief writing tablets always held a special place in Paul Reyna’s heart.
As much as he enjoyed summer vacation, there was an equally exciting pleasure when Reyna got his list of school supplies and began searching for the perfect binder, the perfect spiral and, yes, the perfect Big Chief.
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Paul Reyna was recently named Teacher of the Year by Region 10 ESC. He is the first Garland ISD teacher to win the award and will compete on a statewide level later this year. “I always liked to check out all the new supplies and reminisce about using my Big Chief writing tablet when I was in grade school,” Reyna said. “I didn’t like to admit it but going back to school was something I eagerly anticipated.”
That anticipation is what guided Reyna into the teaching profession – a career path that he was obviously correct in following as the Region 10 Education Service Center recognized him this month as 2006-07 Teacher of the Year.
Reyna, a science teacher at Schrade Middle School, was chosen as the primary-level winner from a group that included 80 nominees, 50 school districts and four charter schools. McKinney’s Anne Presley won the group’s secondary award.
“This is a huge honor,” Reyna said. “To be selected out of such a large group, by your peers, is really amazing. It tells me that I’m doing my job right which means my kids are benefiting. Reaching those kids is what teaching is all about.”
From the regional level, Reyna moves on to the state competition to be held in Austin later this year – a first for any teacher from the Garland Independent School District. And as impressive a feat as that may be, it is only one from a long list Reyna has amassed over the past several months.
The Paul Reyna Awards Tour began in spring when the 19-year classroom veteran was named Teacher of the Year at Schrade MS. A few days later, Garland ISD’s special education department gave him their Regular Educator of the Year award for his work with special ed students.
Garland ISD then honored Reyna with its 2006-07 TOY award marking the first time in GISD history that a teacher won the district and special education awards in the same year. His achievements were twice honored by the Texas Rangers organization at the Ballpark in Arlington and Region 10 followed suit with their TOY award a few weeks ago.
Since then, Reyna has gone back to the Ballpark where he picked up a $500 check for being recognized as a community member who makes a difference by the Rangers and Chevrolet.
Of all those honors, which one means the most?
“The district’s Special Education Regular Teacher of the Year Award makes me proudest,” Reyna said without hesitation. “All those other awards are nice and they each mean a lot to me but, with my son being autistic, it is very special to be honored by an organization that I put so much time and effort into.
“I am a regular teacher – not a special ed teacher. That award is given specifically to people going above and beyond. When you’re recognized for those kinds of efforts it is very satisfying.”
Reyna, who puts as much effort into autism awareness as he does teaching, feels that his ventures are necessary as the numbers of autistic children in America are rising.
“There used to be maybe 1-in-1,000 kids who were diagnosed with autism,” Reyna said. “Now, 1-in-166 has autism. There is a large number of kids who will be in our classrooms very soon and teachers aren’t ready to deal with those issues. Somewhere down the line we will need special training to work with these kids and that’s what I am promoting.”
The knowledge and skills his kids learn in the classroom can be immediately implemented in real life.
“If I teach it today I want students to be able to use it today,” Reyna explained. “I don’t want to teach something and say ‘One day you might use this.’ If they can leave my classroom and actually use what they learn they go from being the student to the teacher. When that happens, they’ve mastered this whole concept.”
At the end of each summer vacation, Reyna still visits a department store and wanders the aisles like he did as a child, glancing over the school supplies that marked a refreshing start in a new grade. This summer, as he browses through the crayons, glue and pencils, he can reflect back to the Big Chief writing tablets that represented so much to him as a youth, and grin.
Because now, Reyna himself is the Big Chief
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