There are ribbon cuttings. There are golden shovels. There are keys to the city. There are politicians handing each other plaques for breathing.
And then there are the teachers.
The ones buying classroom supplies with their own money while Tallahassee argues over culture wars. The ones answering parent emails at 11 p.m. The ones trying to teach algebra, reading comprehension and basic human decency to kids raised on TikTok doomscrolling and school lockdown drills. They are as under-appreciated as politicians over appreciate themselves.
Which is probably why the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations has stumbled onto something rare in Miami politics: 
an event that people actually love.
On Monday, the KFHA will host its Third Annual Teachers-of-the-Year celebration, honoring the top teachers and rookie teachers from schools throughout Kendall and West Kendall — the educators selected by their own schools as Teacher of the Year and Rookie Teacher of the Year in the annual district competition.
No, these educators didn’t win the countywide crown. But the Kendall Federation seems to understand something the rest of the political class often forgets: the people doing the hardest work rarely get the spotlight.
Apparently, this little celebration has become a signature community event because almost nobody else outside the school system itself bothers to publicly celebrate teachers anymore.
Read related: KFHA’s ‘Kendall Talks’ about Kendall — and this time, it’s for the history book
The evening starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Kendall Village Center Civic Pavilion — the “Little House” in the middle of the rotary near the Regal theaters at Kendall and 122nd Ave — with some mingling and munching on food from Mike’s Italian. Then guests move over to the theater for the ceremony, where community leaders, journalists and public officials share stories about the teachers who changed their lives.
Past storytellers include Grant Miller, publisher of Community Newspapers, and ZooMiami’s Ron Magill.
Among those expected to participate this year are former journalist and congressional candidate Eliott Rodriguez, state senate 
candidate Richard Lamondin and Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, who is just always campaigning.
Rodriguez has participated before so is he going to speak about the same teacher? Or just stump for votes?
And yes, Ladra sees the irony here. Miami politicians can spend three hours fighting over zoning variances for luxury towers nobody can afford or Tallahassee mandates, but ask them to talk sincerely about a fifth-grade teacher who believed in them and suddenly people remember they’re human again.
The federation’s board spent the year raising money for cash prizes, raffles and gift cards for the teachers. Five educators are expected to walk away with major cash awards — ranging from $5,000 at the top to three $1,000 checks — while many others will receive prizes ranging from $100 to $200, with every honored teacher receiving gift cards and recognition.
Imagine that: rewarding teachers with actual money instead of inspirational hashtags. Ladra suspects they’ll spend it right back in the classroom.
Read related: Miami-Dade School Board rejects outside help for superintendent search
What makes the night work is that it isn’t slick. It isn’t performative. It’s deeply local. The stories are personal. The gratitude is 
real. The food is from Mike’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant on 137th Avenue, which has been open since 1980. And in a county where public meetings often dissolve into shouting matches about traffic, overdevelopment and political tribal warfare, there’s something refreshing about an event centered entirely on appreciation.
Especially because teachers in Miami-Dade have spent years absorbing everybody else’s frustrations — from testing mandates to staffing shortages to impossible classroom expectations — while still somehow managing to shape the lives of thousands of kids.
“These people impact between 70,000 and 100,000 students in our community,” Rosenberg said. “This is not a lot to thank them, but it’s the least we could do.”
The Kendall Federation has been active for years, not only hosting candidate forums and educating residents about ballot issues but, most recently, bringing people together from all backgrounds to discuss issues that impact our lives. They also honor first responders and recently wrapped up “Operation Turnaround,” awarding scholarships to students who overcame difficult circumstances and turned their lives around.
Turns out community organizations that don’t live off the public dime — this is not one of the non-profit groups that takes hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from the county every budget season — can still do community things.
Maybe it’s because there’s no executive director making a quarter of a million a year.
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KFHA honors real public servants — Kendall’s and West Kendall’s teachers added by Ladra on
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