Tag Archives: Asian American Teachers

Dr. Roy Biñas Basa has been named New Mexico’s 2024 Teacher of the Year

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Dr. Roy Biñas Basa of Zuni, New Mexico, has been named his state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: New Mexico Public Education Department

I always enjoy sharing the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Dr. Roy Biñas Basa, a STEM teacher from Zuni, New Mexico.

Roy teaches natural science and career and technical courses to high school students in grades nine through twelve at both Twin Buttes Cyber Academy and Zuni High School.

Most of Roy’s curriculum involves project-based activities, such as making fatty acid methyl esters from selected plant seeds as an alternative biofuel. That project garnered the 2022 New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge. Roy’s students also make motors and generators, solar panels, simple robots, and windmills.

Roy earned his Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education with a major in General Science; his Master’s degree in Education with a major in School Administration and Supervision; and his PhD in Educational Management. He earned all of his degrees at the University of Negros Occidental, Recoletos. While studying there, Roy’s academic excellence was recognized with awards such as High Academic Distinction and Outstanding in Dissertation. While still engaged in ongoing studies for his Master’s of Education in Special Education at Western Colleges, he also earned a Master’s of Education in Natural Science from the University of St. La Salle. He has also obtained Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) certification, an International Teaching License, and successful completion of the Licensure Examination for Teachers in the Philippines. He has also authored a number of books. To view a list of his books click on this link to roybasa.com.

Roy is a dedicated educator who has made significant contributions to the field, being recognized with numerous awards and honors from local, regional, national and international organizations. His pedagogical priorities revolve around fostering an inclusive learning environment where every student’s unique needs and perspectives are valued, ensuring that high-quality education is accessible to all and empowering students to reach their full potential.

To read more about Roy Biñas Basa, click on this link to the New Mexico Department of Public Education.

Oregon teacher Caryn Anderson garners OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education

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Elementary teacher Caryn Anderson of Portland, Oregon, garnered on OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award. Photo credit: OnPoint

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an outstanding teacher who has earned recognition with their work with young people. One of these is Caryn Anderson, a fourth grade teacher at Abernathy Elementary School located in Portland, Oregon. Caryn has garnered an OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education award.

Caryn has been an educator since 1999, and she has taught at Abernathy for eight years. She says her passion for workin with children comes from the students in her classroom. Caryn also says balances individualized student attention with an inclusive classroom environment. Over the years, she revealed, she came to understand that she was too absorbed in delivering her lessons. This caused her to shift her focus to building community first.

This Chalkboard Champion says her connection with her students fosters not just academic, but also emotional growth. “I have found new meaning in what I do every day and the purpose behind my work and the importance of it,” she declares. “This (award) is for all of the students who grew up like me that didn’t have a place, that they didn’t have a community who saw who they were,” she continues. “And so, the work that I do is for them and for all the other students who are allies and support in this work,” she concludes.

Caryn is one of four teachers in Oregon who have been recognized with an OnPoint award. The other three recipients were Lucas Dix of Milwaukee, Oregon; Willie Williams of Portland; and Samuel Platt of Bend. As part of the award, all four honored teachers will have their mortgage paid for an entire year. In addition, each teacher’s school will receive a $2,500 donation. To learn more about the OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education, visit OnPointcu.com.

 

Pakistan’s Sister Zeph garners prestigious Global Teaching Prize

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Congratulations are due to Sister Zeph, a teacher and community leader in  Pakistan. It was announced last month that she has garnered the prestigious Global Teacher Prize for 2023. Sister Zeph was selected from ten very deserving finalists from around the globe.

The award is presented annually to an exceptional educator who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. The prize, created in collaboration with UNESCO, comes with a $1 million purse. But the award is not just about the monetary reward; it’s about instilling pride, dignity, and value in a profession that plays a vital role in influencing the future of our societies. The prize champions the crucial significance of educators and their contributions towards a better, more informed, and enlightened world. To learn more, click on this link to Global Teacher Prize.

As the winner of this year’s prize, Sister Zeph is highly qualified. For 26 years she has been educating young people in her community, mostly at her own expense. She became interested in teaching when, as a 13-year-old, she became dismayed that education was not a priority in her community. In response, Sister Zeph founded her own school for underprivileged children in her own home, even though she was so young. According to the Global Teacher Prize website, she worked eight hours a day to earn the money to fund the school, then taught students for another four hours, and then stayed up at night to teach herself. Today, her school provides free education for more than 250 underprivileged children. She also runs self-defense classes for girls and established a vocational center that has helped over 6000 women gain skills in information communication technology, textiles, and the English language.

Sister Zeph’s dedication to education and empowerment has touched countless lives and earned her numerous awards. She is recognized as a true change-maker and advocate for women’s rights and children’s education around the world.

View the short YouTube video above to learn more about Sister Zeph’s inspirational story.

Kentucky’s Shane Green garners prestigious Milken Educator Award

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Elementary school teacher Shane Baker of Bowling Green, Kentucky, haas garnered a prestigious 2023 Milken Educator Award. Photo credit: Milken Educator Awards

There are many exceptional teachers working in our nation’s schools who are deserving of recognition. One of these is Shane Baker, an elementary school teacher from Bowling Green, Kansas. He has garnered a prestigious 2023 Milken Educator Award.

Shane teaches third grade at Jennings Creek Elementary School in Warren County. He has a reputation for creating a warm, welcoming place for students of all abilities, and at a school with a high rate of poverty and a significant number of students who do not speak English as a first language.

This teacher obviously enjoys working with his students from diverse backgrounds. “I get to come to work and I get to interact with kids who come from families from all over the world. It’s such a unique environment that you just can’t get in very many other places,” he declares. “It’s a wonderful feeling to see kids who come from different backgrounds or to see kids who look like me because I didn’t get that experience growing up,” he continues.

In addition, Shane serves as an EdTech Ambassador for his school district. In this role, he incorporates technology into his project-based learning curriculum, adjusting for each student’s unique needs throughout the school year. In fact, in his classroom Shane employs green screens for presentations, creates animated stories, utilizes coding to create 3D printer projects, and incorporates digital tools into multimedia discussions.

Shane earned a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Western Kentucky University in 2017. He is currently working on his Master’s degree in teacher leadership.

The Milken Educator Awards have been described by Teacher Magazine as the “Oscars of Teaching.” In addition to a $25,000 cash prize and public recognition, the honor includes membership in the National Milken Educator Network, a group of more than 3,000 exemplary teachers, principals, and specialists from all over the country who work towards strengthening best practices in education. To learn more about the program, click on Milken Educator Awards.

Educator, activist, and Japanese internment camp survivor Marielle Tsukamoto followed in her mother’s footsteps

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Longtime teacher and administrator Marielle Tsukamoto from Elk Grove, California, was five years old in 1942 when her family was removed from their California farm and sent to a World War II Japanese internment camp in Jerome, Arkansas. But she remembers the experience quite clearly. It was partly because of this experience that sparked an enduring passion for justice that set the Chalkboard Champion on her path as an educator, community leader, and civil rights activist.  

Once the war was over, her mother, Mary Tsukamoto, finally got to fulfill her long-time dream of becoming a teacher, a dream she had all but given up.” She had a way of looking at each child, reaching them and telling them, you know, you are important. And you are worthy, and I believe in you,” recalls Marielle. “That’s where I learned that I wanted to be a teacher.”

And that’s how Marielle came to follow in the professional footsteps of her mother. She attended Sacramento State in 1956 before graduating from University of the Pacific. She served first as a teacher, then as a vice principal and principal of C.W. Dillard Elementary in Elk Grove Unified School District. And before she retired, Marielle also served as the Principal of the Elk Grove elementary school named in honor of her mother.

In addition, Marielle has volunteered for the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation, the Elk Grove Multicultural Festival, and the Time of Remembrance Educational Program, an annual event that originated in Elk Grove and is now held at the California Museum in Sacramento.  

Now 86 years old, Marielle enjoys traveling in retirement and volunteers at the California Museum. There, Uprooted: An American Story, shares the experiences of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans. “All of us that are now volunteering at the museum, we do it because have an obligation to the next generation, because of what the last generation did for us,” asserts Marielle.