Life School Oak Cliff Elementary
Dallas, TX
Kymberley Mayes is a middle school Math teacher who was a top three finalist for teacher of the year (2025). The parents of her students love how well she connects with their children, transforming Mathematics into practical life lessons. Her students love coming to school! And her class also scored in the the top percentile for the district’s standardized test. She is popular for her “theme days,” where she invites the students to engage fashion as a form of expression. She wears the most creative outfits, and the kids love it! As a sixth grade teacher, Mathematics is an area that many students loathe due to its difficulty and oftentimes abstract concepts. However, Mrs. Mayes grounds much of her instruction in STEM programs such as robotics and aviation, demonstrating to her students how their math lessons can be used to pursue a well paying career. The majority of Kymberly’s students come from minority backgrounds, so they are being exposed to possibilities that many minority families in her geographical area are not given a pathway to discover. Therefore, Mrs. Mayes in not only changing the lives of her students, she is also expanding the possibilities for their families.
Mrs. Mayes is beloved by her colleagues as well, receiving dozens of merit nominations from her peers. She’s also received multiple teacher of the month awards (which are only awarded based on teacher nominations). She is a past teacher of the year recipient for the southwest region, and she continues to be recognized by parents in her school as one of the best math teachers in the district. In her annual teacher evaluation for 2024-2025, she once again received the distinction of “Distinguished.” These evaluations are given in person via classroom observations and facilitated by the district based upon the T-TESS Observation Rubric (to increase the objectivity of the process). It is rare for a teacher to receive a score of 78 out of 80 possible points; however, Mrs. Mayes is that gifted, and consistently so. She has not only built a caring relationship with her students (and their families), she has earned the respect and admiration of her peers, which is sometimes even harder to accomplish.
Kymberley Mayes has led multiple projects to benefit her at risk students and their families. She founded a community garden to help the students who come from financially challenged homes. She also founded robotics and aviation programs to show students how they can use their math skills to create a career in a well-paying field. These programs have been invaluable for her students–students who come primarily from minority communities that lack exposure to STEM programs. With the combination of using math as a pathway to fields in agriculture or in technology, Mrs. Mayes is striking a rare balance in her curriculum, one that teaches her students to value the Earth while also preparing them to be technologically savvy. I cannot emphasize enough how important this balance is for minority students. Debeloping climate awareness that is also tech savvy is the future of education in America, and Mrs. Mayes is at the vanguard of these innovations. She demonstrates her love for her students through ACTION inside and outside of the classroom, giving countless hours outside of the school schedule to volunteer her time in these extracurricular functions that help her students build the bridge between math and life skills.