Congratulations to Oakwood Teacher of the Year nominee, Ms. Ivia Negron-Francais. Ms. Negron has been an asset to our South Huntington students, staff, families, and community since she started at Oakwood in 1999 as an ENL teacher. Now teaching Kindergarten in the Dual Language setting, her colleagues say she always makes the commitment to give her best self for her students' success academically, as well as their continued emotional development.

Ms. Negron’s students say she makes them feel special every day! And that’s no surprise. When she decided to become an educator, she wanted to make students feel the way her teachers made her feel: smart, unique, bound for success, and able to conquer anything she put her mind to. Her inspiration to become a teacher goes all the way back to Kindergarten. She didn’t understand English, but once she saw her classroom she felt so lucky to have all the resources it offered - books, toys, a chalkboard, and a very smart teacher - by second grade she knew she wanted to teach.

Oakwood principal Annie Michaelian says one thing that stands out about Ms. Negron is the care she extends to her students’ families, always willing to go above and beyond to assist them in helping in the educational process. One reason for that is how Ms. Negron feels about her parents, and the sacrifices they made for her family. Starting over in a new place, with an unfamiliar language, very little family, and no support (financial or otherwise). She says they showed her that hard work takes sacrifices. And sacrifices will eventually pay off.

As a proud South Huntington community member, Ms. Negron likes to attend as many district school events with her family as she can, wanting to connect the two most important things in her life. These include Trunk-or-Treat, Bingo nights, and Oakwood’s Night Out. She also volunteers for numerous professional development opportunities and building committees. Ms. Negron attended Adelphi University where she received her B.A. in Elementary Education and her Master’s in English as a Second Language. She then went on to get her Bilingual Extension certification through St. John's University.

Assistant Principal, Ms. Maria Colon (left), and Principal, Dr. Annie Michaelian (right), proudly present Oakwood's Teacher of the Year for 2022-23, Ms. Ivia Negron-Francais.