Tag Archives: English Teachers

Deaf Education teacher Dana Miles named Washington State’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Deaf Education teacher Dana Miles has been named Washington State’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: League of Education Voters Foundation

It is always a pleasure to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for her work in the classroom. One of these is Dana Miles, a secondary teacher who has been named the 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year.

As an educator, Dana is a “jack of all trades.” She teaches English, Applied Bi-lingual Language Arts (BLA), Work Experience, Special Education, Consumer Math, and Homeroom Advisory to grades 9 –12 at the Washington School for the Deaf (WSD) in Vancouver, Washington. In her classroom, Dana works on helping her students become bi-lingual in American Sign Language and English, and to become career proficient and life ready. When developing curriculum, Dana employs real-world scenarios—such as resume writing, finding independent housing, and navigating transportation system—to help her students become confident adults and achieve work success so they can live independently. She works tirelessly to equip her students for the real world by teaching them to advocate for themselves, and she strives to build a more inclusive society by expanding community partnerships and work opportunities.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Dana is also a member of a statewide transition committee with the outreach team of the Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth. The team develops learning materials for deaf and hard of hearing students across the state. Dana says she was inspired to become a teacher in the program as a result of her own experiences as a second-generation deaf educator. Her parents were both deaf educators, and they were careful to provide her with a language-rich environment in American Sign Language and English.

Dana is, herself, a former student of the high school where she now teaches. She graduated from WSD in 1993. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and English from Gallaudet University in 1998. She earned her Master’s degree in Deaf Education from the same university in 2000. Gallaudet University, founded in 1864, is a private, federally-chartered university located in Washington, DC. The institution provides quality education for deaf and hard of hearing students.

 

NC teacher Leah Carper named her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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English teacher Leah Carper has been named the 2023 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

There are many exceptional educators in our country who have earned accolades for their work with young people. One of these is Leah Carper, an English teacher from North Carolina. She has been named as her state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Leah Carper teaches at Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. In her classroom, she designs curriculum that not only teaches the skills and standards of the course, but also teaches her students how to be empathetic, contributing members of a global community. “They’re students of humanity, and they’re learning how to be good people, and they’re learning that in our classrooms every day,” declares Leah.

Since her selection as North Carolina’s Teacher of the Year, Leah has shared stories about the many of the educators who influenced her. These teachers taught her about being accepting of new people or appreciating different cultures and countries. She even recalled a third grade teacher who bought her new shoelaces because she didn’t have any. These are things, she remarked, that cannot be measured on a standardized test.

In addition to her recognition as North Carolina’s Teacher of the Year, Leah garnered the title of 2022 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year. She was also named the 2021 Guilford County Schools Teacher of the Year and the Guilford County Schools PTA Outstanding High School Educator Award in both 2020 and 2018. She was named the Guilford County Schools Rookie Teacher of the Year in 2007.

Leah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2006. She earned her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Queens University of Charlotte in 2017. Her career as an educator spans 18 years.

 

Jason Torres-Rangel named CA 2023 State Teacher of the Year

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High school English teacher Jason Torres-Rangel has been named the 2023 California State Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Pomona College

It is always a pleasure for me to share the story of an exceptional educator who has earned accolades for his work in the classroom. One of these is Jason Torres-Rangel, a high school English teacher from Los Angeles, California. He has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

Jason teaches Advanced Placement (AP) English to juniors at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District. His career as an educator spans 19 years. In his classroom, Jason strives to create “curriculum that is student centered, culturally aware, (and) that tries to show minoritized voices in ways that challenge assumptions in society.”

The honored educator had excellent models to emulate when he chose to go into the teaching profession. Both his father and mother are math and computer science teachers who inspired him with their own dedication to creating science, technology, engineering, and math opportunities for East LA students.

Jason’s honors as California’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition he has earned. He was named the LAUSD and LA County Teacher of the Year in 2022. In 2020, he was recognized by the American Federation of Teachers for his work in the Community Schools Movement. In 2016, he was recognized by the White House for the Initiative Advancing Educational Equity for Hispanics. In 2015, he won the United Way Inspirational Teacher award, having been nominated by a student and her mother.

Jason earned his Bachelor’s degree in English from Pomona College. He earned a Master’s degree in Education from Harvard University, and a second Master’s degree in English from California State University at Los Angeles. He is working on his PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate University in Claremont.

New York educator Alicia Wein earns 2024 Excellence Award

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High school English teacher Alicia Wein has earned the 2024 Excellence Award. Photo credit: University of Albany Alumni Association

I am always eager to share the story of an exemplary educator who has earned accolades for their work in the classroom. Today, I shine the spotlight on Alicia Wein, a secondary English teacher from Albany, New York. She has earned a 2024 Excellence Award, the Bertha Brimmer Medal, from the University of Albany Alumni Association.

Alicia teaches Guilderland High School in Albany, where she has taught for the past 27 years. At her school, Alicia works to keep at-risk students in the classroom through the campus Focus Program.  She is the co-founder and advisor of the school’s Muslim Student Association, and the co-advisor of the school’s LGBTQ+ Alliance. In addition, she was the advisor of the students who founded the first chapter of the March for Our Lives movement in the Capital District.

In addition, since 2004, Alicia has been a part of her District’s Capital District Writing Project (CDWP), and she has served as CDWP co-director and co-facilitator of the Invitational Summer Institute. And she is also the lead English instructor for the Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) program.

Alicia incorporates technology into her instructional program so effectively that her classroom is nearly paperless. Some of the tools she has used are Edmodo, Google Drive, Classroom Calendar, digital assignments and discussion groups, digital drafting, digital paper submission, and digital feedback and evaluation.

For this work, Alicia has earned a reputation as a superlative classroom teacher, an excellent collaborator with community partners, and a dedicated champion for all students. She is highly respected by her peers, who turn to her for advice and instruction in writing as a teacher-leader in her District.

The annual Excellence Awards recognize alumni of the University at Albany for their outstanding achievements and commitment to service. Alicia graduated from the university in 2003. To learn more about the Excellence Award, click on this link to www.alumni.albany.edu/awards.

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.