Ms. Segal poses with her 2nd-period Spanish class after being surprised with the Teacher of the Year award. “When I was a student at Bellaire I never thought something like this would be possible,” Segal said. “I think my high school self would be proud.”
Mar 10, 2022
Pausing her lesson, Micaela SegalDeLaGarza notices Principal Michael McDonough peeking his head into her second-period Spanish I class.
“At first I thought a kid was in trouble,” Segal said. “Then I saw Ms. Campbell, Ms. Mullet and Ms. Williams standing right behind him.”
McDonough proceeded to announce that Segal won 2022 Bellaire Teacher of the Year and handed her flowers.
“It was really just surreal,” Segal said. “I don’t think I spoke the entire time because I was in disbelief.”
McDonough asked the class what made Segal deserving of Teacher of the Year.
“When the students shared it was overwhelming,” Segal said. “Kids that I didn’t even expect started saying things like ‘she always puts us before everything else’ and ‘she cares.’ I never knew they thought that.”
Segal was one of three Bellaire graduates nominated for 2022 Teacher of the Year, an annual award voted on by Bellaire faculty.
“After graduating from Bellaire and triple majoring in Spanish, Communications and International Studies in college, I became a Spanish hospital translator,” Segal said. “It was a really cool job.”
When she was working at the hospital, Patti Simon, Segal’s old Bellaire yearbook advisor, contacted her and asked if she wanted to co-teach and train with her. Simon wanted to retire, and knew her former pupil loved both journalism and teaching.
“I always knew I wanted to work with students because I really liked my job at the Nature Discovery center in high school,” Segal said. “Still, I always thought teaching was going to be something that I did as a second career, not at the age of 25. But once my old sponsor gave me the opportunity, I just decided to jump on it.”
Segal advised the yearbook and taught reading intervention from 2013 to 2017.
“There were a lot of needs on the part of the students that I wanted to better know how to meet,” Segal said. “Then I went to this summer education conference.”
Through the conference, Segal met people from all over the world and learned about “Peace Education,” a study and methodology that she ended up focusing on in her Master’s program.
“After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to get my Master’s in 2017 centered around peace and conflict,” Segal said. “My thesis was specifically in peace education, which is an umbrella term for how we maintain the peace within ourselves and peace between people. This includes being inclusive, which is why I love Bellaire for the languages.”
After Segal finished her degree at Jaume I University in Spain, she returned to Bellaire and became a full-time Spanish teacher in 2019.
“It’s really cool being back at Bellaire because there are so many teachers that I had here that I learned a lot from about what being a teacher means,” Segal said. “It’s not that they necessarily all had the same teaching style, but they were all authentic and actually seemed like real people. I try to focus on that in my classroom.”
Junior Rahel Ayele said she has noticed Segal’s dedication to her students and authenticity.
“Ms. Segal really cares about her students on a deeper level,” Ayele said. “She’ll personally ask you how you’re doing, and it actually seems like she wants to know the answer. I had her last year for Spanish II during online school and it was comforting to have a teacher who cared about me. She definitely deserves Teacher of the Year.”
Spanish I student freshman Astrid Ajatta said she thinks Segal deserves the award because of her inclusivity.
“She always gives opportunities for students in her classroom regardless of their past actions,” Ajatta said. “She’s kind and considerate but also passionate about Spanish which makes me want to actually learn the language.”
In addition to being a full-time Spanish I and II teacher, Segal is also the Social, Emotional, Learning (SEL) liaison, Bellaire International Student Association club sponsor and Hebrew Club sponsor.
“The Hebrew teacher left last year but Ms. Segal has really helped keep the Hebrew Club alive,” junior Cassie Wills said. “I had Segal freshman year and I also work with her now for BISA. Throughout the three years I’ve known her, it seems like she really wants to help people with any issues they’re having and is always there to talk if you need her.”
Junior Meredith Ratchford attended in-person school last year and went to Segal’s advocacy class.
“I love that I can trust her with serious stuff,” Ratchford said. “She helped me last year when one of my friends was in a really bad place. She’s a great teacher and is always extremely supportive so I’m not at all surprised that she got Teacher of the Year.”
Fellow Spanish teacher Freddy Davalos said he feels fortunate to work alongside Ms. Segal.
“This has been our third year working together, but it has definitely felt much longer, in the most positive way,” Davalos said. “Ms. Segal’s ability to calm down students and later motivate them to focus and enjoy class is astounding. In addition to being a great teacher, she’s also just a great person and just fun to be around. There is never a dull moment with her. Ms. Segal does a great job in celebrating the diversity we have at Bellaire and reminding us that at the end of the day, we are all human beings. This year, out of all years, has and continues to present challenges in and out of the classroom. Ms. Segal is constantly finding ways to work around or solve these challenges to ensure the students feel safe, loved and valued.”
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