Ms. Silva is an educator in the true sense of the word. She has been with the Saint Paul Public Schools in various capacities from elementary school teacher, to program coordinator, to assistant principal and later principal. She also served as a standards and accommodation specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education. She was the director of English language learner programs in Saint Paul for seven years and is now their chief academic officer. Ms. Silva’s effectiveness as a leader has been recognized nationally. First, in the spring of 2006, the Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) were identified by the Council of Great City Schools as among the top 1 or 2 school districts in the country for closing the ELL—nonELL student achievement gap. This closing of the gap occurred under the leadership of Valeria when she was the SPPS ELL director. Second, in the summer of 2006, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs invited Ms. Silva to present on ELL program development to their project officers and principal investigators. Third, in the fall of 2006, an article was published in the Journal of Staff Development, entitled, "In One Voice: Mainstream and ELL teachers work side-by-side in the classroom, teaching language through content." The article captures the essence of SPPS’s collaborative approach for closing the ELL achievement gap.

Ms. Silva has a wide variety of experiences and one focus: the improvement of education for all our children. She strongly supports collaboration and professional development at both the district and site levels as a way to advance practice. She has guest lectured in leadership preparation classes as part of that effort. Dr. York-Barr, a faculty member in EdPA writes of Ms. Silva:

She is passionate and relentless about all students achieving high standards. As evidence of her effectiveness, SPPS was rated among the top urban school districts in the country for closing the ELL—non-ELL achievement gap…. She has built a strong team of teacher leaders who work directly with schools in the district. She also asserts the essential role of collaborative practices…to teach children well. I could go on and on and on…. She is one of the most remarkable and kid-oriented administrators I have ever met.

Ms. Silva has strong ties with the College of Education at the University of Minnesota. She earned her master of arts degree from us in 1991, her specialist certificate in elementary school education and her Minnesota administrative licensure in 1992. We applaud Ms. Silva for her accomplishments and are grateful for her service to children. It is with great pride we nominate her for the UCEA Excellence in Educational Leadership Award.