Spotlight: Aga Cook (AZ '23)

Arizona Milken Educator Aga Cook is currently a K-8 curriculum coordinator and Mohave Valley Connections Academy principal within the Mohave Valley School District. At the time of her Award, she was a fifth grade teacher at Camp Mohave Elementary School. Known for her creative lessons and community partnerships, she's equipped her students with real-world experiences, from following daily stock market trends to running through mock trials. "Community connection is a powerful tool in teaching our students. We need to give students a reason to learn and to see that education opens doors to various career pathways." Cook received an Arizona Milken Educator Award in Fort Mohave on December 8, 2023.

Milken Family Foundation: How have students responded since your Milken Educator Award surprise? 

My students were truly excited. They were both proud to have their teacher in the limelight and excited to tell others that their teacher just received a national award. I cannot express the amount of kindness I was shown from them, their families, and the community. One sweet moment was when my son, a third grade student, came to my class after school on the day of my notification and relayed that his classmates were saying, “Your mom is famous,” and, “We want to be in her class when we are in fifth grade!” 

MFF: Who are your role models as an educator? 

My first role models were my parents. They didn’t have a higher education, however, they understood the power of learning and always highlighted the importance of school. They knew education would open doors to countless opportunities. My dad was always repeating, “If you do something in your life, do the best you can and give 100% effort.” My brother and I grew up with the idea that hard work is essential for your personal and professional success. 

MFF: Is there an experience you had in the classroom as a student that shaped your practices or motivation to teach? 

As a child, my dream was to be a lawyer. I cannot remember what motivated me to set such a goal. Perhaps it was seeing my parents dedicating any time they had to manage their farm and understanding that reality. We didn’t go on family vacations, trips or summer camps. When you have a farm, you have work over the summer. I wanted a different life for my own family. As I got older, the idea of becoming a judge became my passion. I wanted to be a part of the judicial system and impact the community. I was very determined and ended up going to law school, which I graduated from in 2002. My motivation to teach came later.  

In 2005, I came to the United States for a year and a half to practice English and to fulfill my childhood dream to travel. In 2006, I met my future husband, who was an educator. My life shifted on a path I would never have imagined. I saw the meaningful aspect of working in a school and decided to enroll in the teaching program. In 2011, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education. My passion for working with children grew as I was in the teaching program and by the time I started teaching, I knew I was in the right place. Graduating in 2019 with my Master of Education in educational administration was a result of my passion for working in the field of education. 

MFF: Tell us about your first year of teaching. What memories stand out? Who or what helped you through it? 

My first year of teaching was a little overwhelming, but I loved it. I completed the school year with a fourth grade class of over 30 students. I was very fortunate to work with dedicated teachers and school administrators who always provided wonderful support. Their guidance allowed me to grow in the profession and build my instructional capacity. Having a spouse who is an educator also helped. My husband and I share the same passion, and this has helped me over the years.  

Something that stands out for me is realizing how critical teachers are, especially in rural areas. I quickly understood that I have a responsibility to be effective at motivating my students to actively participate in their learning, encourage families in the involvement of their children’s education, as well as vigorously initiate and implement a variety of teaching resources in the classroom to enrich my students’ learning experience. 

MFF: What do you hope students remember from their time with you? 

As I grew within the profession, I realized that community connection is a powerful tool in teaching our students. We really need to give students a reason to learn and to see that education opens doors to various career pathways. One of my fifth grade projects was teaching a personal finance unit that often concluded with a visit from a local bank as a guest speaker. My students learned about needs and wants, financial responsibility, filling out checks to pay for goods and services, as well as how to balance checkbooks. They also explored the world of the stock market and simple investing and graphing, using their math skills. My fifth graders began by learning basic stock market concepts, terms, and the impact the stock market can have for individuals and society. Students chose a company, researched its stocks, tracked the daily performance of their stocks via the internet, recorded performance results in spreadsheets and graphed it. My students will remember learning about the litigation system, career pathways in the court system, and our class mock trials. 

MFF: How has your work in the classroom influenced your roles as a curriculum coordinator and data coach at the district level? 

Over the last few years, I felt that I needed to increase my impact and help with various initiatives outside of my classroom. After a few years of teaching, I learned that some of the critical components of teaching are data-driven instruction, and the quality of instructional materials. As a school data coach, I was helping teachers to generate various reports and analyze students’ data to maximize teaching and learning in the classroom. A few years ago, I joined the district’s Curriculum Alignment and Revision Council to work on developing curriculum pacing guides for kindergarten through eighth grade. This was truly meaningful work. We developed curriculum pacing guides and provided a powerful teaching tool for our kindergarten through eighth grade teachers.  

Last year I was charged with leading the district’s ELA and math curriculum adoption. Our goal was to provide high-quality education that meets the needs of all MVESD students. The work done by our curriculum adoption team has been amazing, allowing our schools to have updated, research-based materials and resources to use during classroom instruction. 

MFF: Outside of school, you teach adult English as a second language (ESL) classes at Mohave Community College. How do your experiences teaching ESL to adults influence your approach to teaching younger students? 

Teaching English as a second language at the community college has various benefits. I am connected to many families of my younger students. Most of my adult students immigrated to the United States and started a new life here. I teach them English, American history and civics. This is a great multicultural exposure and learning that allows me to build a culturally responsive classroom at the elementary level, where all my students are equally valued. 

MFF: What advice would you share with people who are interested in becoming teachers? 

Teaching is a wonderful profession that has a critical impact on the community. Your personal rewards are invaluable. Seeing your students' academic and emotional growth, setting their life goals, and working towards these goals brings more joy than working in any other profession. Working with colleagues that equally care for students and their education adds to the value of working in the educational field. 

MFF: Are you working on any interesting initiatives or new projects these days? Is there anything else you want to share about your school? 

After this summer I will be a full time kindergarten through eighth grade curriculum coordinator for Mohave Valley Elementary School District. I will also be overseeing our online Mohave Valley Connections Academy. This is a critical milestone in my career. One of the greatest tasks will be ensuring a successful implementation of the newly adopted math and ELA curricula. This is a huge team effort that will require extensive professional development, so teachers are supported throughout this transition period. I will also be working with our school leaders to ensure that we provide high-quality instruction to meet the needs of all MVESD students. I am truly excited for the great network of the Milken Educator Family. After the Milken Educator Forum in June, I feel empowered and ready to make an impact beyond my classroom or my school district.