NYCPS Names Gabriela García de la Noceda (BS ’20) 2025 Big Apple Award Winner

New York City Public Schools honored the third-grade Special Education ICT teacher, who is an alum of NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Teaching and Learning.

Gabriela holds her 2025 Big Apple Award certificate

Gabriela García de la Noceda (BS ’20, Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education, Grades 1–6) has been named one of this year’s Big Apple Award recipients. The Big Apple Awards are given annually by New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) to recognize New York City teachers who go above and beyond to serve their students and families.

Originally from Puerto Rico, García de la Noceda knew that she wanted to become a special education teacher and was drawn to NYU Steinhardt’s Childhood Education and Childhood Special Education dual certification program, both for the academic preparation and the two full years of student teaching.

“I have a cousin with autism who lives in New York and is very close to my age, and we would visit him often,” says García de la Noceda, who also brings her bilingual background into her inclusive classroom. “I saw how his teachers worked with him, and I wanted to be able to help people in that way as well. While I was student teaching, it solidified my sense that people who are neurodiverse shouldn’t have to adapt to the world: The world creates the disabilities, not the other way around.”

After graduating from Steinhardt, she received her Master of Arts in Education Policy from Teachers College, Columbia University, where also completed a fellowship on reading intervention.

She then began working at P.S. 243 in Crown Heights, where she has been ever since. She is currently in her fourth year as a third-grade Special Education ICT teacher.

“I really like third grade because around eight years old is when children come into their own,” says García de la Noceda. “They are growing into the older part of childhood and now is when they start asking a lot of big questions, developing critical thinking skills, and can approach profound discussions with childhood wonder.”

Gabriela stands in front of her classroom. The screen behind her reads, "Welcome 3rd Graders!"

In addition to her work in the classroom, García de la Noceda also runs an afterschool guitar program to share her love of music and leverage it as a tool for inclusion.

“In my first year of teaching, I would play my guitar for the kids, and I had a neurodiverse student who was particularly interested in learning to play,” says García de la Noceda. “When he was given a guitar as a gift, I spent lunch breaks teaching him to play, and he got such joy out of it that I decided to turn it into a more robust program.”

During her second year, García de la Noceda began a pilot program for 12 students who would meet once a week after school to learn chords and explore playing music on guitars. The group is still going strong three years later.

García de la Noceda was nominated for the Big Apple Award by her co-teacher for her dedication to connecting with her students and the power of restorative justice and inclusion throughout the school community.

“It's very humbling to receive this award,” says García de la Noceda, who is currently pursuing an advanced certificate in special education at Hunter College. “To me, the Big Apple Award represents multiple people who support me—my co-teacher, the paraprofessionals, the principal, the other staff, and the kids themselves who come in every day and work hard. This feels like a shared award with all the people that it takes for someone to be a good teacher; you can’t do it all on your own.”

As part of her Big Apple Award, García de la Noceda will also participate in the Big Apple Fellowship, which includes engagement in leadership development sessions, professional learning communities, and conversations with the Chancellor of NYCPS.

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