The teacher from IES de Tías, Juan Cruz Sepúlveda, received the Viera y Clavijo Medal on Thursday night, awarded by the Government of the Canary Islands, for his outstanding career as a teacher and educator. Nearly 200 people, including friends of the awardee and authorities, attended the event, held at the Pancho Lasso School of Art. Among the attendees were the Mayor of Tías, Pancho Hernández, the Minister of Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Inés Rojas de León, the Director of the Island Education Office in Lanzarote, Flor Alonso, and the Councilor of Education of Tías, Aroa Pérez.
The Tías City Council has conveyed its congratulations to the neighbor and teacher of the IES of the municipality for this distinction, which recognizes "the best teachers in the Canary Islands." This teacher, still active, has been "an outstanding professional" on the island, according to the City Council. In addition to his extensive career as a teacher, he has been a defender of trade union freedoms, a promoter of the identity and history of Tías, and a councilor in the Municipal Corporation of Tías.
The award ceremony in Lanzarote was held after the institutional event in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This year, the highest Viera y Clavijo award was given to four teachers, a school principal, and an inspector.
Thus, in addition to Juan Cruz Sepúlveda, those recognized with this decoration were Jacinto Alonso Sánchez, from the ONCE; Manuel de los Reyes Hernández Sánchez, educational inspector; Carmen de León Hernández, teacher at CEIP Agustín Millares Sall, and Catalina de León Hernández, teacher at CEIP Laurisilva, both centers in Gran Canaria; Adolfo Rodríguez González, teacher at CEIP La Sabina (La Palma); and Pedro Yedras Contreras, director of the San Juan Bosco center in Tenerife.
Review of Juan Cruz's Career
Juan Cruz was appointed Island Director of Education on the island of Lanzarote in September 2003. During his tenure, "the highest indicator of the arrival of students from other places to the island" was experienced, according to the City Council.
The awardee began his teaching studies at the Teacher Training School of Las Palmas in 1973, and in October 1975 he began his teaching activity as an interim teacher in a regional school in the south of Gran Canaria. In 1982 he returned to his native island and taught at the Uga Unitary School.
In 1987 he participated in trade union life as a prominent member of the STEC. He combined teaching with his role as a councilor, in the opposition, for CC in the Tías City Council. In addition, he is a promoter of the Mercedes Medina Díaz Educational Cultural Association and the Tías Association, Forum for Identity.
