Sam Navarez was one of 11 to win honor from California League of
Middle Schools
Gilroy – A career in education wasn’t always on Sam Navarez’s mind.
When the Hollister native graduated from San Benito High School and headed up to Humboldt State University, he was set on becoming a lawyer. But as a junior in college, after spending some time coaching and realizing he enjoyed working with kids, Navarez decided that teaching was his calling.
And, apparently, the longtime educator made the right choice. Navarez was named Educator of the Year by the California League of Middle Schools for Region 5, which includes Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties.
Only 10 other middle school teachers from throughout the state received the award. Brownell Middle School Principal Suzanne Damm nominated the eighth-grade teacher.
Damm did not return phone calls for comment.
Navarez, 52, said receiving the award in early March, particularly since it meant joining a stellar group of teachers, was both humbling and an honor.
“A little pat on the back is good,” he said. “Fortunately we get it everyday from our kids.”
The married father of three, two grown and one at San Benito High, said it’s a bit difficult being singled out because it’s the team of educators, administrators and students that form the mold of a good teacher.
“No teacher gets an award like this without tremendous support and you have to have good kids because you can’t fool kids,” Navarez said. “Kids know when you’re secure and when you’re not.”
Navarez began teaching 28 years ago, spending his first two years at San Benito High. But when he switched over to a middle school in Hollister , he knew he’d found his niche. From there he spent eight years at middle school in Alum Rock Union Elementary School District before beginning his career in Gilroy with South Valley Middle School.
He began teaching at Brownell Middle School when it opened n 1995.
“What drove me to teaching was I had an inspirational teacher in eighth grade,” he said. “He was almost like my surrogate father.”
As a history teacher, a subject many kids consider boring, Navarez captures the teens’ attention by maintaining a classroom he calls “student centered.” What that means is he asks his students to tell him how they can learn best and infuses creative lessons into the work, such as writing eulogies for social reformers, instead of focusing solely on facts and figures.
“I want them to be able to express themselves,” Navarez said. “I don’t have a quiet class, which I tend to enjoy. Socialization, I think, is a very important part of education.”
