Colorado’s teacher of the year honored at White House

Family and the love for rural Colorado

Rivera was born and raised on the Western Slope of Colorado. She describes the area she called home as about an hour from Glenwood Springs, north of the Dotsero exit on I-70. She went to school in Eagle and Gypsum, towns both with a population less than 10,000 people. 

“I was just used to the small town world and being in that community that comes with it. I loved knowing my teachers and having them multiple years in building those relationships,” said Rivera. 

Her love for education and teaching started there, building long-lasting relationships with her own teachers. Plus, it didn’t hurt that her mom, Janet Rivera, was also a teacher.

“She was a middle school science teacher as well. And so I definitely followed in her footsteps,” said Rivera.

Continuing with the idea that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, she also graduated from the same high school her father, Benny, did. Throughout her career and this Colorado Teacher of the Year application, Rivera feels like her family has been right by her side through it all. 

“I come from a very big Hispanic family in the area,” explained Rivera. “My mom's family, also a big family, is on the East Coast. So I have gotten a lot of love over the course of this process and am very grateful for it.”

Her fondness for the small-town life contributed to her decision on where to go to college. She earned a degree in biology and masters in arts for teaching from Colorado College.  

When Rivera first pursued her teaching career, she thought she wanted be at the elementary school level, but a couple of professors encouraged her to observe a middle school classroom and that is where she felt at home. 

“I realized, like, Oh, those are my people.” explained Rivera. “And so [I] went into science and just did the amazing work there and worked in Colorado Springs for about seven years, and I really enjoyed my time there but really missed the small town." 

That love of rural life is what brought her back to the Western Slope in 2012 when she moved to Glenwood Springs.

“I'm very grateful to live in this community and be able to do that and be around people that have similar values and are really into that stewardship and taking care of our amazing wilderness areas that we have here,” said Rivera. 

Her passion for rural Colorado and teaching in less populated areas is something she hopes to advocate more for with her new platform as Colorado Teacher of the Year. She wants to get more support for areas of the state that may be overlooked. 

“So I just really feel like as rural teachers in Colorado, we just don't have the support that maybe other school districts have just because of our location and just … we don't have the same resources always available to us,” said Rivera. “And I really want to try to advocate and support those teachers and those educators who are working really hard this year.”

Surviving the pandemic as a teacher

If you talk to any teacher these days, they could tell you what an incredible challenge the last two years of has been for them and their students. From the back-and-forth of remote and hybrid learning to the general stress of keeping everyone safe and healthy, the pandemic has changed the education landscape.

“I think all of us teachers at some point in the last two years have really stopped and thought like, ‘Is this something that I want to keep doing' because it's really hard; it has been exhausting,” said Rivera. 

A survey conducted earlier this year by the Colorado Education Association found nearly 40% of members considered leaving the profession after the 2020-21 school year. Even a passionate teacher like Rivera had moments during this pandemic where she had to take some time to think. 

“I just stared at a computer screen for an hour trying to talk and get kids engaged. And they're trying to engage with me, but I can only see the pictures that are this small of them and really trying to build those relationships,” said Rivera. “It was hard. It was really hard. And there were some days where you would go home and you would cry. You'd get in your car and you would cry before you walked into work and have to kind of psych yourself up and say, ‘We got this’. Because you want to be there for the kids and you want to be excited for them, but it has been very, very difficult.”

While Rivera recognizes how hard it has been, she says she is coming to terms with the reality of the situation and what educators have to do moving forward. 

“I think we all, maybe naively, thought it would get a little bit back to normal, but we're having to realize that there is no normal now and we need to decide what pieces from the past we want to keep and what normal we want to create,” said Rivera. 

For her, she hopes to invest even more in relationships with students and their mental health. 

“I want to make sure I prioritize those relationships because I think students, right now, we all need to love each other a little more,” said Rivera. “We might not get to all the content today, but if we need to stop and rally around something or address a situation, that mental health is almost more important than the other pieces.”

Right now, Rivera is teaching between 80 and 100 students. Most of those kids are in sixth grade science classes; Rivera does teach one social studies class. Glenwood Springs Middle School is currently in-person, full-time with everyone wearing masks. 

No matter how many students she has, Rivera has learned that true, authentic interest in a kid’s life can go a long way in their development as students and just as young adults.

“I think something as simple as having a conversation, when a kid walks into your classroom before a class starts, or going to watch him play basketball, play soccer, see a dance recital, really just building those relationships outside of school,” said Rivera. “That's something I really try to focus on and prioritize in my teaching because if students feel like they're respected and that they belong and that you see them as a human being in your classroom, they're going to want to learn.”

As Coloradans move forward in this pandemic and send their kids to school, let’s not forget about how hard our teachers are working. That is one of the messages Rivera wants to get across as teacher of the year. 

“It's really exhausting being a teacher right now,” said Rivera. “And I just, I think people just need to love on their teachers a little bit because there's a lot going on.” 

Passion for science and teaching

The advantage of being a science teacher in Glenwood Springs is the abundance of opportunities to teach class outside.  

“So we do a lot of, we call it field work in our school, which really is focusing on getting the kids outside and getting to explore,” said Rivera. 

The field work is one of reasons why students identified Rivera as such a great teacher. Not only do they get to do hands-on activities, but it is also relevant to what is going on in the world around them. 

In August 2020, the Grizzly Creek fire in Glenwood Canyon burned more than 32,000 acres in a four-month period. This summer, rain prompted mudslides where the fire had destroyed vegetation, creating more significant damage in the canyon and I-70 below. As tough as the whole situation was, Rivera took the opportunity to teach her students about the science of what was going on. 

“So we are currently in our second year of sort of studying that fire. I started last year with last year's kids, but this summer we got another level to it because on top of the fire then came the mudslides. And so just really helping students today, we talked all about the mudslides and what's caused the mudslides. And we really just focus on the science behind that,” said Rivera. 

For her students this fall, that even meant a rafting trip on the Colorado River. Rivera said they put in at Grizzly Creek where the fire started and rafted down passed the school. 

“So the students were able to see and experience firsthand. Here's where the fire started, here's where the mudslides happened and they were able to see it. And so when we talk about it in my classroom, it's not certain kids having a reaction to what all kids were there, all kids experienced it and were able to sort of have that conversation. And it's really powerful,” explained Rivera.