Dr. Benjamin Santiago has ben named the 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year for the American territory of Guam. Photo credit: PNC

I am always excited to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for their work. One of these is Benjamin Santiago, a journalism and cultural dance teacher in the American territory of Guam. He has been named the island’s 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.

Benjamin teaches journalism and cultural dance at Agueda I. Johnston Middle School in Guam. In addition to teaching cultural dance, he also serves as his school’s Native Dance Squad Director and works with the choir.  He is also currently working on his latest fitness program for students with autism. In addition to his work in the classroom, Benjamin serves as his school’s advisor for the National Junior Honor Society and the Mock Trial advisor. He also works as his school’s curriculum coordinator, a Teacher Administrator Effectiveness (TEF) mentor, and the coordinator of the accreditation self-study. He is part of committees that develop curriculum instruction, sheltered instruction observation protocol, and standards-based grading. And as if all this were not enough, he has represented his school at conferences for the International Society for Technology Education and the Summit of Innovative Teaching Strategies.

As the Director of the Native Dance Academy for the past 25 years, Benjamin has promoted the perpetuation of indigenous culture through the performing arts. As a native culture advocate, he has made appearances in the Mariana Islands and elsewhere throughout Asia, as well as in the United States and Russia. He captured international trophies in Hawai’i for the quality of his performance in both ancient and modern hula. In fact, he earned the title of Kumu Hula, from the world-renowned hula master George Lanakilakeikiahiali’i Na’ope in the art of hula.

And even all this is not everything Benjamin has accomplished. He is a small businessman, having opened his own fitness studio in 2021. There he promotes an active lifestyle as a certified teacher of Zumba, Body Combat, Body Pump, CXWorkx, Grit, and Mixxedfit. In fact, he is the program developer for the national fitness program known as Mixxedfit. For this effort, Benjamin won the 2013 Governor’s Award for Outstanding Male Fitness Instructor in 2013.

“What’s inspiring about Dr. B,” declares Jon Fernandez, the Guam Department of Education Superintendent, “is that his passion does not end in the classroom. He continues to perpetuate our cultural practices in community events and brings these lessons back into the classroom to help our kids develop into young citizens. When we talk about legacies, that is what we are talking about – lessons and skills that go above and beyond the classroom.”

Benjamin earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, Language Arts, his Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. His career as a professional educator has spanned 25 years.

To read more about Dr. Benjamin Santiago, click on this link to a story about him published by PNC.