Sisters win Teacher of the Year honor
Moore, who teaches in a specialized classroom at Dowling Elementary School, is in her 14th year with ECISD. She is also the campus department head for special education.
Medina noted that not only is Moore the teacher of the year for her campus, she's also in the running for Teacher of the Year for the district.
Medina is in her fourth year with the district and teaches 3-year-old prekindergarten students at Lamar Early Education Center. She has been with ECISD for seven years, but three of them were as a substitute teacher.
Medina said it was really cool to be named with her sister especially because she hasn't been at Lamar that long.
Moore said it was really unexpected.
"Like I said, I'm finishing up my 14th year ... and sometimes special education teachers don't really get recognized as often. So for both of us to be in special education and be selected this year ... to me, it's like a one in a million chance," Moore said.
Medina said they found out about the honor on different days.
"I found out the night before she did ... when her teacher friends reached out to me so that we, me and my mom, could go be there for her," Medina added.
Their mom was really excited. Medina and Moore have a middle sister, Kendra Dees-Looney, who is also a teacher at IDEA.
Neither their mom or dad were teachers.
"Somehow we all three just became teachers. Luck of the draw, I guess," Medina said.
In their family, Moore said, they are all first-generation college graduates. Their mother's name is Tammy Dees and their father's name was Steve Dees. He passed in 2018.
"My mom and dad both graduated high school, but neither one of them pursued college, and so I think for my mom, it's a huge deal that all three of us have gone to college, graduated and gotten our degree and working towards something," Moore said.
Moore said their father was a big part of their story.
"We grew up in a household where my parents didn't go to college, there was never any doubt in their minds, especially our dad's, that we were going to go to college. He always valued education for us, because he wanted us to always be able to support ourselves no matter what. He instilled that in us from a very young age. All of us held jobs early on just trying to learn ... how to take care of ourselves, how to hold a job, how to take criticism and critique from other people and I truly believe that's part of what has molded us to be the teachers that we are today," she added.
"We know that he got up to work whether it was hot, cold, he was sick, whatever else was going on. He missed birthdays and holidays, all just to provide for our family. He knew that by him showing us that and being that role model, that we would go on to do good things," Moore said.
All three were born and raised in Odessa and they are all products of ECISD.
"I graduated from Odessa High, and I started at OC, and from OC, I transferred to UTPB, where I got my bachelor's and my master's degree," Moore said.
Her bachelor's degree is in child and family studies with a minor in special populations and her master's is in special education.
Medina followed in her sister's footsteps — graduated from OHS, went to Odessa College, where they both played softball, went to UTPB where she earned a bachelor's degree in child and family studies with a minor in special populations and a master's in special education early childhood from Grand Canyon University.
She has one child.
Moore said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher, but never thought of going into special education until one of her professors brought in a young individual with disabilities.
"They told their story about the difference that certain teachers made and shared some of the struggles from different classrooms. I guess in that moment ... I kind of knew that I wanted to be one that made a difference for students who had special needs, who didn't learn maybe the same way as others, but still had a chance to make something. I knew that I could ... help guide and mold some kids in that way," Moore said.
For Medina, it was Moore that drew her to special education. She was 16 when Moore was a new teacher.
"I would get to go in and hang out with her and her kiddos sometimes, and just being around the atmosphere. I was like, yeah, this is what I want to do," Medina said.
Moore's classroom has 18 students ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade.
"We've got 5- and 6-year-olds to 10- and 11-year-olds all in the same group, all working on different" things, Moore said. "Our schedule is crazy all the time," she said.
Medina said the program at Lamar is half-day, so she has a class of 16 and a class of 15.
"I get to mold a bunch of little ones, and I get to be their first-ever teacher so that's pretty cool," she added.
Moore and Medina said what keeps them going is seeing the growth in each student.
Moore said she's had students who came to her unable to walk and left able to do so and students who weren't talking and now are.
"Just seeing their parents faces light up when you get to share the excitement of what good thing happened at school is truly an amazing feeling," Moore said.
Medina agreed.
"My kiddos obviously are much smaller and so I am their first teacher and just the bond I get to build with my kids, with my families. You really build a community being in a specialized classroom and like she said, first words, first steps. I had one this year for (the) first time that I helped teach how to walk. That was huge," Medina said.
Medina said the victories make her job enjoyable.
"There's so many ... what some people would think are small, they're huge for us. We get to celebrate all those things," she added.
Moore said she enjoys seeing the growth in each student and building relationships with families.
"I get to keep my kids, some of them, I've had since they were in kindergarten and now they're getting ready to go on to middle school," she added.
Being a teacher for 14 years, she's had a lot of students for their whole elementary school career.
"Just building those relationships and seeing them go on and make growth is one of the things that I love the most," Moore said.
All the teachers of the year are invited to a picnic at the RockHounds game May 4.
Moore is very proud of her little sister and the impact she is making on her students.
"I feel like she follows in my footsteps on a lot of things, and I couldn't be more proud of the teacher that she's become," Moore added.
Medina said she follows in Moore's footsteps because she's amazing.
"I still call her sometimes I'm like, hey, this is what's going on. I need help. How do I help this kiddo? My brain's not working. Help me out, and she's always there to give me advice, give me help. It's pretty sweet to have somebody that you can call and when you're in a pickle and like, okay, how do I do this? You've been at it for 14 years, and so it's very nice and vice-versa. We collaborate half the time at family dinners. We're like, hey, have a kiddo doing this. Got any tips, tricks or ideas?" Medina said.
Along with teaching, Moore and her husband, Mickey, own Mooreps, a baseball-softball training facility. They have two daughters.
Her husband is a teacher at Bonham Middle School.
"We are open in the evenings, and we provide private and group lessons for young athletes. We do all baseball, softball. We do hitting, catching. I do softball pitching, so that's what we do in the the afternoons," Moore said.
Medina added that Moore is not only making an impact in the classroom, but also in the community.
"They run a travel softball team for both of their girls, and they travel ... making a huge impact in the community," Medina added.
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