II. Educational History and Professional Development ...oregonteacheroftheyear.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/lindblad... · A. What were the factors that influenced you to become

- 3 -

II. Educational History and Professional Development Activities - (two double-spaced pages) A. Beginning with most recent, list colleges and universities attended including

postgraduate studies. Indicate degrees earned and dates of attendance. B. Beginning with most recent, list teaching employment history indicating time period,

grade level and subject area. C. Beginning with most recent, list professional association memberships including

information regarding offices held and other relevant activities. D. Beginning with most recent, list staff development leadership activity and leadership

activity in the training of future teachers. E. Beginning with the most recent, list awards and other recognition of your teaching. A. Lewis and Clark College (IAL 2010-2012), Lewis and Clark Teacher College (MAT 1995-

1996), Linfield College (BA History/Communications 1994), University of Nottingham (1992)

B. Gresham High School (2000-2014) - Developed and taught EOL sheltered history for 6 years;

proficiency-based SUN after school American history for 3 years; government and economics

for 2 years; IB HL History of the Americas for 13 years; taught the Global Studies Alliance

with English for 3 years; Senior Global Studies for 11 years; and hosted over 20 interns in

teaching these classes over 18 years. Marylhurst University (2008-2014) - Teacher education

consortium. Lewis and Clark College (2010/2011)-Taught Engaging Community and School

Leadership. Lakeridge High School (1997-1999) Global Studies, OCSS state test

development committee, and History of the Modern World as a Senior Elective Class.

C. Oregon Council for Social Studies (1997-2014 )- participated in conferences. Earned the

OCSS Social Studies Teacher of the Year Award in 2013. I will present again at OCSS

conference this fall. Business Education Compact/ODE Proficiency Collaboration (2001-

2011). Attended BEC conferences around the state and worked with Suzanne Daggett at

ODE, Dr. Robert Barry at GHS, and Superintendent John Miner at GBSD to become a

pioneer in the first ever elective proficiency program in the GBSD. Travelled to and

collaborated with Scappoose and Redmond High Schools to form state language and

guidelines for proficiency work in Oregon Schools. Oregon Education Association (1997-

2014) Gresham Barlow Education Association (2000-2014), and Strike Captain (2012).

- 4 -

D. IB staff development and education to help staff understand the IB learner profile and

program (2002-2014). Unlike most IB programs worldwide, our IB school lacks funding for a

Middle Years or Primary Years program. Since we also lack freshmen social studies, we

purely rely on staff, school leaders, and parents in the community to maintain high standards

and test results. I became an IB examiner and travelled to conferences in Toronto, Atlanta,

and other locations to collaborate with IB leaders. Staff and Student Cultural Proficiency

Equity Training (2008-2011). Worked with VP Ayesha Freeman to implement SUN school,

provide equity training for staff, and hosted Native American, African American, and Latino

focus groups to use student perspective to change curriculum that was not representative of

our changing diverse populations. Proficiency Staff Development and Professional

Development Groups. Led the school in larger faculty and smaller PDG groups to help people

understand and develop elective and core proficiency programs. Mentor and Supervisor for

intern teachers and District Mentor Programs (2000-2014). I have worked with over 20 interns

to communicate the importance and strategy of teaching. All but two are still in education and

I have worked with interns from Marylhurst University, Lewis and Clark College, George Fox

University, MHCC, Concordia, Linfield, and Warner Pacific. I helped design new teacher

support programs in the district and work with local universities to provide feedback each

year on how to improve the student teaching experience. One example is encouraging

Marylhurst University and others to increase the amount of time an intern is in a school

before they even start teaching. I have taken each intern through cultural proficiency training

and I have made myself available for daily support, with free lunches, during every step of the

process as my mentors did for me.

E. ● Oregon K-12 Teacher of the Year (2015)

● Oregon Social Studies OCSS Teacher of the Year (2013)

● Recognized by articles in the Oregonian, Gresham Outlook, and Linfield Magazine (2014)

● Staff member of the month each year at Gresham High School (2000-2014)

● Recognized by the Oregonian for SUN school work with other staff (2010)

- 5 -

III. Professional Biography - (two double-spaced pages)

A. What were the factors that influenced you to become a teacher? Describe what you consider to be your greatest contributions and accomplishments in education.

In 1991 my mother, Cheryl Lindblad, called my baseball coach, Scott Carnahan, at Linfield

College, and asked if I could be granted permission to attend Nottingham University in England. She

was convinced that my father, Butch Lindblad, and I were too focused on GPA and baseball, which

limited our world and cultural awareness. Even though I was on scholarship for baseball, Coach

Carnahan let me study abroad for five months after adding in conditioning stipulations. I took classes

at Nottingham University while being a captain for their basketball team. I travelled through Western

Europe and North Africa. Factors that influenced me to become a teacher were family mentors,

exposure to other cultures, and our American cohort’s unacceptable performance on a U.S.

geography exam (to be explained further in this essay).

After teaching and coaching for almost 20 years now, I realize how important it is to have

family and professional mentors in your life. I’ve worked with many students that have no support.

When my parents divorced in 1980, my mother took a job as a receptionist at the Fred Meyer Ad

Agency. Today she is the Senior Director of Media and her work ethic has been an inspiration for me.

Since my mom was working full time, I moved in with my grandparents part-time to attend Shaver

elementary. Both of my grandparents’ families had immigrated into the country and were intent on me

learning and practicing Spanish. My grandfather felt Spanish would be the most important language

for me to learn, as Portland was changing. My grandparents also insisted that I accept different races

and cultures. My grandfather Duke Roydon was an insurance salesmen and a former World War II

veteran that trained mechanics to repair fighter planes. He had a regimented schedule of homework

and language lessons, and he encouraged me to bring a friend home from school from a different

culture or ethnicity back to the house for play time weekly. My Uncle Mike Roydon, who was an artist,

lived in the house and coached me on baseball pitching techniques weekly. In 1988, my father made

the controversial decision to transfer me from Parkrose to Madison High School to play for an

incredible teacher and coach - Dave Gasser. Even though I did not want to leave my friends or move

in with my father, I attended Madison in hopes of getting a baseball scholarship. Dave Gasser showed

us that social studies could go beyond the classroom, a message that I still use today with my

- 6 -

students when we do service learning projects. I was offered baseball scholarships at the University of

Washington, Columbia, and Linfield. My mother wanted Linfield for the academic reputation and

proximity. My father felt that Coach Carnahan was the best baseball coach recommended by San

Francisco Giants scout John Shafer. We won three league titles, I was voted Most Inspirational Player

four years in a row, and I ended up travelling the world. I still scout and recruit for Linfield College

today. I spent several months at Nottingham University, but also met my family in Spain and other

Western European countries.

Professor Pita in Nottingham gave the 20 American students and 20 international students an

American Geography exam. All the international students could label all 50 states, capitals, and

geographic features while most Americans failed. The results of the exam made me think that through

teaching I could increase global awareness in others. I visited a family in Tunisia that lived in a village

house about half the size of my current classroom. There was no electricity and 10 people lived there

and ate together sitting on the floor. I started to realize that my mother was right and there was more

to the world than baseball or grades. When I returned to Linfield I was a different person that desired

to learn about other cultures and teach others. I travelled into Mexico with my Uncle Mike and Aunt

Brenda to study Mayan ruins following my college graduation. When Dr. Tom Love from Linfield

College invited me to help assist him on a trip to remote places in Peru, I jumped at the opportunity to

cement the learning of Spanish that my grandfather had always wanted. When I returned from Peru, I

targeted three school districts with rising Latino populations. I was hired at Gresham High School in

2000, and I have been using Spanish ever since that time to inspire students, close the achievement

gap, and encourage Latino and other minority students to enroll in our college level IB program.

My greatest contributions and accomplishments in education started with having an open mind

to every person or culture, because I had experienced what it was like to be a minority in Peru. I also

wanted to use my Spanish to create more equity in the school system. I developed and implemented

a sheltered EOL history class and used proficiency power standards to teach American history in an

after school SUN program. Both of these smaller class environments allowed us to ensure that

students showed proficiency on a standard before advancing to the next level. Doing the humanitarian

project with students and the community for 15 years is the best of all!

- 7 -

IV. Community Involvement - (one double-spaced page)

A. Describe your commitment to your community through service-oriented activities such as volunteer work, civic responsibilities and other group activities.

One of the things I learned at Lewis and Clark College, and later taught interns as part of an

Engaging Community class, is that there are many teachers around the country that take the same

road in and out of work without ever really being involved in the community. Building the humanitarian

project in 2000 actually came through the inspiration of two students; Flavio Santos from Brazil and

Martha Almandarez from El Salvador. There was an earthquake that year in El Salvador and those

two students alone raised awareness and close to $2,000 dollars for Mercy Corps. They inspired me

to think that if two students could help the world that much that I should make this an annual part of

every class that I teach. The project has become an annual event, and it opens up collaboration

between the community and the school, while students practice professional skills.

In the first few years of the project, it seemed that there would always be a need for disaster

relief, so the project started as being internationally focused. However, as community businesses,

parents, and teachers provided more feedback each year, we started to help national and local areas

as well. The students have to practice the life skills of creating a professional flyer, business plan,

selecting a reliable humanitarian organization, dressing up to present to at least 20 community

businesses, documenting, accounting, photographing their work, and presenting to the class. The

creative part is that they are in charge of creating their own project that can attract interest or

fundraising. Students designed a concert with eight bands one year to help the Nuclear Catastrophe

in Japan. Many students in recent years distributed food or clothing in Portland or Gresham. Other

Students used local food donations for Gresham restaurants to bolster soup kitchen meals on some

days. We’ve even had people make dresses for children in Haiti; that particular project was inspired by

Mountains Beyond Mountains, which is the book we read every year to help students understand

what humanitarianism really is. One of my favorites was when Daniel Eckhardt worked with the owner

of Jazzy Bagels restaurant to create and sell the Jersey Sub for one week with all proceeds helping

Hurricane Sandy victims in New Jersey. Attending IB Americas conferences, working with the

BEC/ODE on proficiency, collaborating with Senator Ron Wyden on the Caesar Chavez street issue

with my EOL class, and sending young women leaders to work with Senator Laurie Monnes

Anderson were inspiring civic connections I’ve been fortunate to be involved with.

- 8 -

V. Philosophy of Teaching - (two double-spaced pages)

A. Describe your personal feelings and beliefs about teaching, including your own ideas

of what makes you an outstanding teacher. Describe the rewards you find in teaching.

B. How are your beliefs about teaching demonstrated in your personal

teaching style?

A. Teaching is an opportunity and calling to inspire every different type of human

through equity, diverse inspiring activities, and life skills. My door is open every day to anyone

who walks in to learn, volunteer, or observe. I’ve told all of my interns that our room always

stays open all year while instruction is going on. Not only does that raise the quality of

instruction, but it makes a statement that everyone is welcome daily. For the students, that door

is open all day and during lunch for academic or life concerns. No one can ever predict what

students are going through in their personal lives before they walk through the door. I wanted to

create a positive, inviting environment to make people feel comfortable. In addition, the students

need to see that you model equity in your own life. The wall in my room also models equity,

because it displays student work representing the whole world. Being an outstanding teacher

means that you value and stand up for equity when you hear judgmental comments of any kind

in the room. You have to design learning activities that honor every person’s culture and various

learning styles. Effective teachers create authentic assignments rather than relying on

textbooks, worksheets, and multiple choice tests alone. Common Core literacy standards,

which unite all subject areas, can only be implemented through weekly practice of literacy skills.

This means putting in up to 600 extra hours per year to make sure you have the time to grade

authentic assessments like notebooks, journals, on demand essays, place papers, family

histories, student led discussions, multiple intelligence presentations, poetry, music, art, and

student made films. If students know you put in the extra time, they will respond with strong

effort. Teaching students how to write, communicate, and collaborate is essential. Seeing

students increase awareness in school and in life is the best reward.

B. My beliefs about equity, diverse inspiring activities, and teaching Common Core

literacy skills are modeled by the energy and focus of the classroom. I am deeply committed

to helping many of my students become the first in their families to attend college, and one

- 9 -

way I can support that is through encouraging all of my kids to take rigorous IB college prep

classes. In my classes, we have a keen focus on literacy which unites the rigors of the

Common Core and IB Standards. Students are constantly reading, participating in animated,

student-led discussions, and writing on-demand essays that allow them to practice vital literacy

skills as they are learning about history. In addition to writing, I try to model positive verbal

communication by emphasizing eye contact and movement in the classroom. With 33-52

students in a room, you have to move around to keep them guessing in an attempt to engage

everyone in the classroom. Every year should always begin with a way for the class to bond

through learning about personal or family histories. I always have students write and present

a place paper about their favorite place in life. It is a way to build confidence in students, and it

models equity as we all have to respect everyone’s history and potential challenges. In a

place like Gresham High School, you might get meaningful places from 17 countries around

the world. We have to celebrate our global representation. This year alone, my first period

class has students from Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Thailand, Romania, El Salvador,

Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.

I have always believed that little bit of food or snacks is a way for everyone to feel comfortable,

and at the end of each semester we have an international food party where students bring

dishes from their respective countries. After everyone understands that this will be a non-

judgmental environment where we will value equity, we can begin with teaching the class

through diverse activities. Even though some teacher-directed instruction is necessary to

introduce a unit or key language/academic term, the class becomes fun when the students

take ownership of their own learning. Students need to be able to express their learning

about social studies by selecting their own way to do it and by working in teams to prepare

to collaborate with others in professional real world settings. When we do projects in class,

I like to allow the students to make films, use power point presentations, create art galleries,

dress up like historical figures, or bring the history alive in any way they see fit. The

humanitarian project, where students take these creative and life skills into the

community to help the world, is a culmination of this process for each class every year.

- 10 -

VI. Education Issues and Trends - (two double-spaced pages)

A. What do you consider to be the major public education issues today? Address one in depth, outlining possible causes, effects and resolutions.

A. The major public education issues today are retaining high quality teachers, recruiting more

non-white teachers to connect to the changing demographics of our state and nation, changing public

perception, and attendance. The average life span of a teacher in the United States is around three

years, which is far below Asia or Latin America. My former intern that now teaches in China has 100%

attendance and complete respect from students at all times. When he offered an extra study session

on Saturday, the only student that could not come made an hour long apology with her parents. Even

though teaching is respected worldwide, it is only partially respected in the United States. In public

schools with students that spend the majority of their time texting or investing in social media, the

teacher has to be a dynamic entertainer in addition to mixing equity support with discipline. Many

teachers change careers because of the lack of money or support. Implementing strong mentor

programs that provide weekly support for new teachers will help public education. I also believe that

our state and country need to be proactive in promoting teaching as a career to non-White

populations. How can we close the achievement gap and create more equity in our schools unless we

actively recruit more diverse teachers that model the changing demographic of the student

population? One of the pieces of evidence cited in our state’s 40-40-20 plan to increase college

education of Oregonians, is that by the year 2023 minority students will be in the majority in the United

States. In our own state, we have experienced a significant rise in Latino students, but we still have

very few Latino staff members.

Public perception is another key factor challenging public education today. How many times

have you heard someone in America say those teachers have it easy? They work with kids and have

all that time off. I averaged up to 600 hours a year in extra grading time the last decade trying to

sustain an IB Americas program with on-demand essays and document assessment exams. The only

way to change public perception is to get as many leaders and citizens into the classroom as possible,

because once they see the daily challenges in education, they will find a whole new respect. This is

why the door to my room has been open for 18 years. Systems already exist to make this happen,

- 11 -

because so many public schools rely on the community to support them. The community has to be

invited into the school and teachers have to be willing to also go out into the community.

B. However, the number one issue facing public education today is attendance. Oregon has one

of the worst student attendance records in the country. Regardless of any professional development,

Common Core literacy standards, or excellent lesson planning, students can’t learn unless they are in

class and engaged. Watching attendance get worse every year has even caused me to modify my

grading system to motivate students to be there on a daily basis. There are several causes that

contribute to attendance problems. First of all, there has been a socio-economic and demographic

shift in Oregon. Many of our students serve as interpreters for their families, or they have to get jobs to

help support their families. Second, the ability of the school to monitor attendance decreases as class

sizes rise and funding diminishes, leaving fewer people calling home. The third cause of bad

attendance is that students learn they can simply get away with it. Many of my students admit they

would never miss work, but think they can miss school. The effects of absenteeism diminish the

chances of getting or holding down a job. Students in this generation are already challenged by rising

college costs and a competitive job market; bad attendance patterns only limit their ability to succeed.

The solution involves allocating the resources to allow staff and teachers to call home. I

average about 8 calls home every month. Often, being bilingual is helpful, but any call to a parent or

guardian is usually well received. I find that parents and guardians either do not know the amount of

classes that their student is skipping or they know it but can’t control it. A call home that begins with

two or three positive attributes of their student always goes well. This often motivates a parent or

family guardian to have a talk with their student about the importance of attending school. The

problem is that many teachers lack the time or desire to make a call home. If there is a shortage of

staff members in the attendance office, it often leads to more automated home calls. I believe

converting a portion of staff meeting time to having everyone in the school calling homes would help

more than people can imagine. Of course this can be backed up with a reasonable attendance policy

that has consequences for people that continue to skip. Perhaps there can also be fines imposed on

families in extreme circumstances. But calling home is the best way to solve this rising problem.

- 12 -

VII. The Teaching Profession - (two double-spaced pages) A. What do you do to strengthen and improve the teaching profession? B. What is and/or what should be the basis for accountability in the teaching profession?

A. I strengthen the teaching profession by modeling that I am a learner for life and by

motivating future teachers. It is important for my daughters, sons, and students to see that I am

never going to stop learning. I continue to attend conferences and further my education in hopes

of becoming a better leader. Since taking over the IB Americas program at Gresham High

School, I have attended at least 10 IB regional or national conferences in North America. Rather

than compare myself with mediocrity, I’ve collaborated annually with some of the best IB teachers

and examiners in North America. I feel humbled at these conferences about how much I still need

to learn to become an excellent teacher. Each conference rejuvenates me and inspires me to use

the learning from fellow IB educators worldwide to improve our program while creating more

equity in enrollment. When I tell these schools that I have IB classes of 43 or more students, they

usually think that I have that many in my entire program. They are shocked when I tell them I

have 43 or more in each IB class! However, it makes our program an inspiring underdog story in

a world where most IB schools are privately funded with very low class numbers and elementary

Middle Years and Primary Years programs that support students. Learning how other schools

strategize their instruction and curriculum management has helped me craft the best program

possible for our diverse IB History program. The most important way to strengthen and improve

the teaching profession is to build future teachers. I have been very fortunate in my life to have

family and educational mentors and I want to give back to the profession. I have mentored over

20 intern teachers in 18 years. I want them to teach for the love of the students and subject. I

extend the same deal that my mentor Dave Gasser did for me. While serving on the Marylhurst

University Consortium for 7 years, we recruited more non-white faculty and student populations to

the school, conducted an equity study, and required interns to spend more time observing

classes before teaching.

B. The basis for accountability in the teaching profession should be authentic classroom

evaluations and observations, combined with a thorough coverage of state standards for exams.

- 13 -

How many teachers in the State of Oregon get observed at least 10 times per year? The more

observations a teacher has, the more it raises their daily performance. We actually learned in our

educational leadership program at Lewis and Clark that there are some teachers who may only

have a couple of observations a year! Since my current Principal, John Koch, has been in my

class at least 30 times in the last four years, I always feel like he could walk in any day. This

raised my personal accountability and caused me to post daily proficiency standards and learning

targets. I tell all of my Interns that a superintendent, volunteer, principal, parent, or civic leader

could walk into our room. This is also why the open door policy that I mentioned in an earlier

section is so important. If your door is open every day that you teach, you are inviting everyone to

participate in the educational process and you are raising your own performance. We should aim

for every teacher to be observed at least 10 times per year. Even though a couple of the visits

can be short, at least 7-8 of them should be extended for at least 35 minutes. We all know

that one of the issues facing public education is that school administrators are too overwhelmed

monitoring school discipline. As a result, they may opt for the shorter class visit. I think it is very

difficult to evaluate a teacher if you only see a small portion of the lesson, just like it would be

difficult to evaluate a coach if you only observed 20 minutes of their practice. Increasing authentic

school visits by building, district, and even state personnel, would increase accountability and

drive performance towards excellence, especially if a teacher was taught to keep a reflective

journal in collaboration with debriefing each of those classroom visits. If we take the extra time

and money to increase teacher evaluation, it will help those teachers and school leaders find

collaborative solutions to the major issues facing public education. Jonathan Kozol was right

when he wrote Savage Inequalities. After studying different school systems and student

performance throughout the United States, Kozol concluded that the largest factor impacting

student performance was having good teachers. Even when he studied the poorest of schools, if

those students had an outstanding teacher, they could overcome many other challenges.

- 14 -

VIII. National Teacher of the Year - (one double-spaced page) A. As the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, you would serve as a spokesperson and

representative for the entire teaching profession. What would be your message? What would you communicate to your profession and to the general public?

A. I would be honored to be a spokesperson and representative for the entire teaching

profession. I love public speaking and I realize it would be my responsibility to create a positive public

image for the State of Oregon and the Nation. I would send a message of appreciation and

encouragement to become involved in education. All of us should be appreciative of school and

government leaders that have worked so hard to improve public education. When I was invited by

Oregon State Senator Monnes Anderson this year to spend a day at the Oregon legislature, I had the

chance to witness the hundreds of items they were trying to accomplish just in one seasonal session.

This only reinforced my ideas that teachers need to open their doors to the public while also being

willing to go out to see what business and government leaders are doing. We have to change public

perception of education through positive collaboration and focus on Common Core literacy standards in

all subjects. Of course, we have a lot of challenges, but the concept of public education is so noble

that I’ve had a chance to work with students from all over the world that have come to the United

States just to have this opportunity. The public needs to know that teachers are appreciative of all of

their efforts. In addition, I would want to invite as many parents, community members, and civic

leaders into the classroom. I would love to speak with teacher or leaders about the value of visiting

local classrooms.

My final message would be one of equity and inclusion. Oregon and the United States have

faced a rapid demographic change in the last several decades. When I arrived at Gresham High

School in 2000, there was only a 3% Latino population; we now have a 28% Latino population. We

have to embrace all cultural groups, but especially this group as it will impact schools, communities,

and elections of our political leaders for decades to come. I am always thankful to my grandfather for

demanding that I learn Spanish at a very young age. Because of him, and my family, that supported

me to immerse in the linguistic and cultural systems of Latin America, I’ve been able to connect with

so many more people as a teacher, parent, and coach. Speaking Spanish helped me meet my wife

from El Salvador and raise a family of three daughters and twin boys!

- 15 -

IX. Letters of Support - (limit of three letters, each a MAXIMUM of ONE PAGE)

Include three letters of support from any of the following: superintendent, principal, administrator, colleague, student/former student, parent, or civic leader.

Included at the end of application.

X. Publicity Photograph

Include with the application package a photograph of the candidate, either hard copy or sent in electronic file form, suitable for publicity purposes. A 5” x 7” head shot in color is preferred.

An electronic copy was submitted through email with the application as well.

College of Education 2811 NE Holman Street Portland OR 97211 t 503-280-8539 f 503-493-6212 www.cu-portland.edu

June 19, 2014 Dear Sir or Madam, When I started teaching at Gresham High School I was assigned to room 224, and I remember in the relative quiet of my classroom this loud, booming voice clamoring from down the hall, the last door on the right. When I asked students about who was making all that commotion, I distinctly remember the response I got from my student Ashley. “Oh him? That’s guy’s a legend. That’s Mr. Lindblad.” If you ask a senior at Gresham what the most memorable experience they had in class that year, those who were lucky enough to have Michael Lindblad would tell you “anything he did in class.” If you asked them why that was, they would often explain that Michael Lindblad was the most passionate teacher they had ever had, and not only did he love history, but he wanted them to love history as he did. Yet those students would probably tell you that Michael didn’t just teach them history. Even though he has taught every class Gresham has offered, and has often taken the brunt of the International Baccalaureate class load with his class size mushrooming every year, and literally helped kids from every walk of life at Gresham High…even with that academic success, they would tell you that his humanitarian project was where he shined. This project, where he challenged them to look at the most difficult problems that we face and try to solve them, was the task that pushed them to consider who they were in the world, and what role they wanted to play as citizens of the human race. And they would tell you that even though facing those issues, the ones that we adults often prefer to push to the side, was often painful, that they did so because they didn’t want to let down Mr. Lindblad, who they said believed that they could change the world. And in the countless times I watched this, they did. Which is why I believe that Michael should be the Oregon Teacher of the Year. He has maintained a consistent level of excellence across the board in his classrooms, and that is because he is equally engaging and demanding of dedication from his students. He has never shied away from a pedagogical challenge, and while his work with IB students has always been commendable, I always thought his devotion to teaching Social Studies to Gresham’s English Language Learner population was when he shone even brighter. No one at GHS reached this population like Michael, because he was always willing to go an extra mile to facilitate their learning. Admittedly, if ever I felt like I needed inspiration, I would walk down the hall, watch him teach these students, and leave energized because of how dynamic Michael was in these classes. I am also supportive of Michael because of the collaborative effort we are engaged in now, whereby he is a vital cog in the work of teacher preparation. Michael is a master cooperating teacher, and I am privileged to work with him in molding new teachers who can activate wonder, foster critical thinking, and develop civic-mindedness. His commitment to our profession is unmatched, and because of that, he is deserving of the highest accolades our profession can offer. Sincerely, Shawn Daley Assistant Professor of Education