Lee Perez, an ESL teacher, embraces a student as he accepts the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year award at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School on Wednesday.
LILY SMITH, WORLD-HERALD
Students of Lee Perez, right, an English as a Second Language teacher, cheer as he accepts the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year award at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School on Wednesday.
OMAHA -- Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School teacher Lee Perez was named Wednesday as the 2022 Nebraska Teacher of the Year.
Perez, a teacher for 13 years, is an ESL teacher at Buffett, which is in the Omaha Public Schools in northwest Omaha.
Perez said that as he works to teach his students a new language, he also celebrates their backgrounds and cultures in the classroom, according to a news release from the Nebraska Department of Education.
Perez said in his application for the award: "It is important to embrace diversity. We should acknowledge that being different is special and these differences should be showcased during learning."
Perez said his message to other teachers is to be "kind, culturally aware and tolerant and that kindness should be our new pandemic."
Perez earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Lee Perez, an ESL teacher, embraces a student as he accepts the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year award at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School on Wednesday.
Students of Lee Perez, right, an English as a Second Language teacher, cheer as he accepts the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year award at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School on Wednesday.
Lee Perez, an English as a Second Language teacher, speaks to reporters after accepting the Nebraska 2022 Teacher of the Year award at Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School on Wednesday.