Towson, Md. – Edwin Pérez, a Spanish teacher at Parkville High School, will be honored as the 2024 Latinx Educator of the Year by the Latinx Education Collaborative. The award will be presented during the Latinx Educator Awards Reception to be held on Friday, March 8, in Kansas City, Mo.

This year, 116 educators from many states were nominated for the Educator of the Year honor. Pérez was selected as the award recipient by a review committee comprised of LEC Educator Advisory Board members who are past recipients of the award. Reviewers considered how nominees reflected the “Latinx Educator Values” of community, authenticity, impact, personal growth, and integrity.

“I am honored to receive the recognition of 2024 Latinx Educator of the Year Award from the Latinx Education Collaborative,” said Pérez. “Congratulations to the winners of the other awards and to all the nominees. Thank you, LEC, for creating this opportunity to highlight and honor Latinx educators for their advocacy work both in and outside the classroom. To my students, family, friends, colleagues, and community partners, I can’t thank you all enough for all the time you’ve invested to help me grow as a person and educator. I feel extremely lucky to be able to learn from all of you. I appreciate all that you have done for me.”

According to Iván Ramírez, LEC’s community engagement director/storyteller, this is not the first time Pérez has been nominated. “People see his impact year after year and continue to nominate him,” Ramírez said. “Edwin excels at embodying the Latinx Educator Values and has proven to be a leader in education.”

One of Pérez’s nominators wrote: “Mr. Pérez is a hidden jewel in Baltimore County. Mr. Pérez has a working knowledge of how discrimination affects all students, but especially students of color and Latinx students. He uses his voice and his pen to speak up and out for his students. Also, he encourages his students to be leaders in the schoolhouse and the local community. He deeply believes that all students have the right to a first-rate education to compete in this global society. He not only speaks out for his students, but Edwin is a leader for educators: he is the chairperson for the Minority Affairs Committee of TABCO [Teachers Association of Baltimore County].”

Pérez has been a Spanish teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools for three years; prior to that, he taught in Baltimore City for seven years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Florida State University.

Photo via BCPS on Flickr