YISD history teacher is only from El Paso recognized as among the best in Texas
EL PASO, Texas -- A teacher with Ysleta Independent School District has earned some statewide recognition.
Eastwood Knolls International School history teacher Albert Peinado is one of 16 teachers --- and the only one from El Paso --- to win a 2020 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Award.
The award is given for “exemplary contributions in teaching, curriculum development and extracurricular programing.”
In particular, Peinado received the Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award for outstanding work at Eastwood Knolls IS, where he has taught for four of his 13 years at Ysleta ISD.
Peinado, who currently teaches Texas history through dual-language instruction in English and Spanish, is the first Ysleta ISD teacher to win this prestigious Humanities Texas award in its 19-year history.
Prior to becoming a teacher, he spent 21 years in the U.S. Air Force.
His wife, Faviola, is also a teacher at Ysleta ISD.
“My students love coming into my classroom, and I love seeing them come in,” Peinado said. “It gives me great pleasure to hear students and parents alike say that before they had me as a teacher, they disliked history – but now it’s their favorite subject.”
Humanities Texas is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award was established in memory of the former Board of Directors chair at Humanities Texas, and serves as a lasting tribute to her service to the organization and her commitment to the study of Texas history.
More than 700 teachers across the state were nominated for this year’s awards.
During the 2020-21 school year, Peinado and the 15 other award-winners will receive $5,000 and an additional $1,000 for each of their schools to purchase humanities-based instructional materials.
