Teachers wear many hats. They share knowledge and life lessons. They are disciplinarians, coaches, mentors and friends. Lifelong educators, the type that turn an obstacle into a lesson or help a student see that a perceived failure is only an opportunity to be better, are hard to come by. This is exactly the type of person that Beatriz Sears, the newest member of the Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC) family as Vice Principal, has aspired to be.
Sears’ love of education resulted from her mother’s dedication, who as a teacher, taught Spanish for 36 years at Miami Beach Senior High. She explained that even as a young child she would play “teacher” with her younger sisters, imitating their mother. “To me, being an educator is not work at all, it is my passion,” said Sears. “When you are a teacher’s kid, you learn to love school in a different way because you get to see the inner workings and it becomes a way of life.”
While Sears has always considered herself an educator, her years working in education have shown that she is also a proficient administrative staff member. Over her career, Sears has worked in just about every aspect of education. She has held positions as a registrar, a teacher, an activities director and as an assistant principal, giving her insight as to how everything – from schedules to pep rallies – fit together to bring a school together. For the past five years she worked as the assistant principal of Westland Hialeah Senior High. Beginning the 2015-2016 school year, she replaced Dr. Anamaria Lopez Ochoa as Vice Principal at Miami Lakes Educational Center.
“MLEC is like no other school in the district,” said Sears.
Sears explained that she was excited about joining MLEC for several reasons, but she especially liked its dual educational purpose. MLEC not only offers high school education, but also offers people of all ages the opportunity to study to get their ideal job, making MLEC a unique institution.
“The facility is amazing. I always knew that it was a great school but I had no idea of all of the incredible things that were going on here. Students at MLEC have a chance to learn so much that it really is inspiring,” said Sears.
Sears said she was devoted to meeting and learning more about MLEC’s talented students and teachers, explaining that it would be a great way to take in the school’s culture.
“I think she’s going to embrace us and we’re going to embrace her and MLEC is going to become even better than what we are now,” said John Moffi, the school’s Social Studies Department Chair.
Sears believes that through enhancements, she can help MLEC’s programs be better than ever and allow the school to reach new heights.
“MLEC is the best kept secret in the North end of the county,” said Sears. “I would like to publicize what we do and make sure that the community members know what we are doing so that we can continue to grow and expand opportunities for our students.”
Sears is convinced that publicizing what MLEC does will allow it to continue recruiting great students and continue its legacy. This is one of the many goals she expects to achieve while working at the school.
“My goal is to help MLEC become better in every way.”