Yuma teacher named Arizona’s ACT K-12 Champion
Yuma High School teacher and campus AVID coordinator Rocio Ruiz was named the Arizona ACT K-12 champion award winner for the 2018-2019 school year.
Ruiz won the award for excelling in the classroom as an educator. She is one of the fifty-one winners in the United States, one from each state and Washinton, D.C.
“Ms. Ruiz is the perfect candidate for this,” Yuma Union High School District AVID Coordinator Christal Buckley wrote in Ruiz’s nomination letter. “She is a role model to her colleagues on the use of AVID strategies and a motivator to her students to be not just college ready, but also career and community ready. As the AVID coordinator, Ms. Ruiz strives to bring up the rigor in all classes because she feels that this will help increase our student’s success. She leads workshops during Monday teacher professional development days, and she opens her classroom so teachers can see her implementing some of the strategies she presents.”
The ACT College and Career Readiness Champions are high school seniors, K-12 professionals, postsecondary professionals and workforce professionals who are making a positive impact on their communities through their efforts to advance college and career readiness for all. The ACT College and Career Readiness Champions are individuals across the country who support ACT’s mission of education and workplace success. ACT State Councils- comprised of education and workforce professionals from all 50 states serve as the selection committee and select one Champion per category for each participating country.
“We all know inspiring individuals who work tirelessly for the advancement of college and career readiness for all students,” said ACT Senior Vice President of State and Federal Programs Scott Montgomery. “The ACT College and Career Readiness Champions initiative lift their stories so that more people can be inspired to find their path to success through the motivation and determination of the seniors, K-12, postsecondary and workforce champions leading the way.”
Ruiz is also a finalist for Yuma County High School Teacher of the Year award.
