Ms. Cid, our very own choir teacher at Miami High, is known for her dedication and hard work. Maybe that’s why her colleagues chose her to be Miami High’s 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year.  She is deeply loved by her students and not only teaches the art of singing but also inspires confidence and love for music that extends far beyond the classroom. 

Ms. Cid’s Musical Journey 

   Ms. Cid attended Coral Reef Senior High School, and in 10th grade, her choir director assigned a project in the 4th quarter that involved a binder full of music careers. In that binder, students had to find universities, explore what majors could lead to specific jobs, and research the salaries for those jobs. From that moment, Ms. Cid knew she wanted to pursue something in music.  

   Ms. Cid didn’t always know she wanted to teach choir. In fact, as an undergraduate, she was a pianist. However, when she began student teaching, she realized, “I wanted to teach choir.” After graduating, she auditioned for several universities, ultimately attending FIU for her undergraduate degree in music education. She graduated, completed her internship, and worked for four years at Renaissance Middle School, before earning her master’s degree at Florida State University. 

   The amazing music educators she had the privilege of learning from—including her piano teacher, high school choral director and middle school choral director— inspired her to become a choir teacher. “It just kept getting better and better. It was like a passion that they had, that I feel I need to pay forward,” she shared. Ms. Cid has been teaching for 14 years, with 9 of those years spent at MHS. Some of the challenges she faced while becoming a choir teacher included transitioning from teaching at a charter school to MHS and adapting to post-COVID students.  

Balancing Choirs and New Beginnings 

   Ms. Cid wakes up at 4:30 in the morning to make the drive to MHS, teaches all day, works with her

students after school, and then makes the drive back home. Even with her busy schedule, what excites Ms. Cid the most is her amazing students, those eager to learn and so appreciative of what she has given them. Connecting through music with her students is the best part of teaching choir. Ms. Cid focuses on working toward new goals. “We are always striving to be better,” she said. 

    To stay motivated, Ms. Cid makes sure to eat healthy, get enough sleep, go to the gym, and attend only 4 conferences a year. When it comes to competitions and performances, she believes a lot in planning. Ms. Cid is working on balancing her work life with her personal life by cutting back on the number of choirs participating in certain activities.  

   She mentioned that if next year’s schedule remains the same, she won’t need to hold as many after-school rehearsals on Thursdays. She has already reduced after-school rehearsals for Lady Stings and Miami Voice, allowing them to work on music during school hours. This has been a struggle for Ms. Cid since she lives far away. “If I leave at a normal 4 P.M., I don’t get home for a long time,” she said. 

    Besides dedicating much of her time to teaching choir, Ms. Cid enjoys outdoor activities such as traveling, kayaking, fishing, and scuba diving. She is planning trips to Thailand and Italy. “I also have a green thumb, so I like to take care of my plants,” she shared. In her free time, Ms. Cid likes to relax by reading, going to the beach, and spending time with family and friends.  

     Something that might surprise people about Ms. Cid is that she feels like she has lived two lifetimes. “The first decade of my life was one thing, and now it’s going to be a different thing,” she said. She met her first husband when she was 19, but he passed away when she was 29. Now, in her 30s, Ms. Cid is preparing to get married again.   

   One piece of advice Ms. Cid shared with those thinking of becoming a choir teacher is to trust the knowledge you’ve gained from college, such as auditioning and putting yourself out there. “It’s never going to be easy; you’ll have to keep going. Always persevere and always find a way to engage students,” she said.