Congratulations to Special Education teacher Kareem Neal of Phoenix Arizona, who has been inducted into the 2022 National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: AZEDNews
It is always a pleasure to share the story of an exceptional teacher who has been honored for his work in the classroom. One of these is Kareem Neal, a special education teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF). In fact, he is the first educator from Arizona to be so honored.
Kareem teaches grade ninth through twelfth students with severe cognitive delays at Maryvale High School in Phoenix. In a career that has spanned 23 years, 15 of them has been spent at Maryvale. Prior to accepting his job at maryvale, he worked for six years at The Children’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies in Glendale, Arizona. Before moving to Arizona, he worked at The Developmental Learning Center of New Providence, New Jersey, a school that provided services for students with autism. He has also created and developed all of the curricula across all content areas used in self-contained Special Education classes within his district.
Kareem takes his work with young people very seriously. “When students leave my class, I want them not to have to rely on other people to do everything for them. That is number one,” declares Kareem. And his efforts are paying off. “Our work in my class is validated by the number of students who are currently working in the community near school or are doing sheltered employment rather than living in a group home, staying at home, or attending day programs,” he reveals. “My classroom community and structure allow for the students to thrive in roles that they wouldn’t traditionally thrive in,” he concludes.
In addition to being named in the NTHF, Kareem was named the Arizona state Teacher of the Year in 2019. In 2018, he garnered an Arizona Education Association Diversity Award, in 2017, he was named the Phoenix Union High School District Teacher of the Year. He has also earned The Educator Excellence Award by the Maryvale Revitalization Committee.
Kareem earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Seton Hall University in 1996 and his Master’s degree in Special Education from Jersey City University in 1999.
The National Teachers Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 in Emporia, Kansas. Nominees must be certified public or non-public schoolteachers, active or retired, with at least 20 years of experience in teaching grades preK-12. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 140 educators from 40 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. Kareem is one of five inductees to be honored in 2022.
To learn more about Kareem Neal, click on this link to the Council of Chief State School Officers.
