Christine Birée did not have tears in her eyes when she suddenly discovered she was being honored as one of the Teachers Who Inspire.

But one of her students, 10-year-old Chance Coleman, couldn't hold them back. "I'm so happy for you, I'm gonna cry," he said as he hugged Birée.

Birée, who has taught third grade at Atalaya Elementary School for 11 years, was nominated by a colleague for the honor, which is jointly sponsored by Santa Fe Public Schools and Partners in Education, a local nonprofit that builds relationships between the community and the school district.

Birée is the first of six teachers to receive the honor this year. The other five will receive their surprise notification at public events between now and early June.

The awards, created in 1992 and funded by an anonymous donor, honor teachers who demonstrate exceptional leadership and partnership capabilities. Honorees are nominated by their peers — usually teachers in the same school.

Atalaya's principal, Abbie Casias, said, "What makes Christine a great teacher is her commitment to every student and the process ... she is tireless in taking every child as far as she can within a school year."

Among other achievements, Birée is being praised for her literacy coaching skills, her ability to treat each student as an individual human being, and her success in communicating with her students' parents.

"I like words," she said of her emphasis on teaching reading skills, though she acknowledged she was "pretty speechless" when she was called up to accept the honor during a school concert in the gymnasium Thursday morning.

Returning to her classroom, Birée was swamped by her students, who overwhelmed her with a group hug. They were eager to offer opinions as to why they consider Birée to be a great teacher, because a) they truly love and respect her, and b) it meant they could postpone doing math problems while they spoke with the media.

The students repeatedly called Birée kind, caring, dedicated, polite and fun.

"She knows how to tell kids how to stop before they get in trouble," one of her boys said. He acknowledged he's one of those types of kids.

"I like the creativity of this job and the challenge of adapting to the different personalities of the class," Birée said. "You have to be creative with children about how to reach every one of them."

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.