Former first lady praises CCSD teachers at Heart of Education awards

Former first lady Laura Bush commended Clark County teachers Friday night at the fourth annual Heart of Education Awards at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.

The event honored 750 finalists for the awards honoring teachers who make a difference at their schools. Twenty educators were awarded $5,000 each for their efforts in and out of the classroom, from a middle school mariachi band director to a math teacher for students who speak English as a second language.

“You inspire students to follow their dreams. You encourage their potential, and you guide them on their path to success,” said Bush, wife of former President George W. Bush.

Other speakers included comedian George Wallace and CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara. Awards were presented by Erich Bergen, an original “Jersey Boys” cast member who plays Blake Moran on the CBS drama “Madam Secretary.”

The Clark County School District has 18,000 teachers. Educators were nominated by parents, students, administrators and colleagues and were chosen by judges from The Rogers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports education and arts programs. The foundation helped create the awards program with the Smith Center.

“Teacher is simply not a big enough word to contain what you do,” said Rogers Foundation Chairman Beverly Rogers.

In her keynote speech, Bush spoke about her time working as a teacher and librarian in Texas. Her first job as a teacher was at a struggling inner-city school in a poor neighborhood, she said.

“I wanted to work with students who’d been left out and too often left behind, but I wasn’t prepared for the poverty I saw there,” she said. Many of the children lived on the streets nearby and came to school hungry, Bush said.

Students now deal with problems that are different from those faced by earlier generations, including drugs, gangs and violence, Bush said. One in three teens in the United States drops out of high school.

She said many children in the U.S. are being raised in single-parent households and spend more time alone or with peers than with a parent.

“Young people need us in their lives,” Bush said. “They need to know that they are valued and someone believes in them, and their success matters.”

Bush also spoke extensively about her family, including the births of her two grandchildren and the deaths of former president George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush. She invited educators at the event to visit the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Toward the end of her keynote speech, she quoted Barbara Bush: “All we know we have is now.”

“Never forget that one friendly smile, one reading lesson, one consoling touch, one check written or one busy hour given over to someone who needs you,” Bush said. “These are things that can make all the difference in the world.”

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.