SAN ANTONIO – The KSAT team shines a spotlight on an educator every month throughout the school year.
And, for the month of March, we are recognizing a teacher who comes from a long line of educators.
Nikki Murray is the special education inclusion teacher at Tuscany Heights Elementary in North East ISD and she is KSAT 12’s Educator of the Month.
When KSAT 12 surprised Murray with the award her mom, who is also an educator, was there to congratulate her, as well as her husband.
“So my mother was one of my teachers, and she was in education for almost 40 years,” Nikki Murray, Tuscany Heights Elementary Special Ed Inclusion teacher said. “Prior to that, both my grandparents were in education. So, it kind of runs in the family.”
Murray has been in education for 13 years and she’s been teaching at Tuscany Heights for 11 years.
She primarily works with fifth grade and she says she loves her students.
“I love the kids,” said Murray. “I love working with them every day and kind of seeing where they start and the progress that they make as they grow. So, I’ve seen these kids, I’ve known these kids since kindergarten and to see them go all the way through elementary school is really special.”
Murray has two sons, a fifth grader and a 2nd grader and even with a busy life outside of school, her mother, Maureen Valls, says Murray always makes time for her students.
“One time, she was at football practice with her kids and she was sitting in the car on her laptop and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She goes, ‘I have to figure out a way to get these kids to understand this lesson.’ It was 8 o’clock at night. That’s my daughter. That’s what I’m so extremely proud of. She’s so passionate about her work, and she carries her kids in her heart.”