Schools

Grosse Pointe North Teacher Contender for MI Teacher of the Year

One of Grosse Pointe North High School's science teachers is among the final four being considered for the Michigan Teacher of the Year. The winner will be chosen before the month's end.

Gary Abud is honored and grateful for the opportunity someone has given him to participate in the Michigan Teacher of Year process. He doesn't know who that someone is but he believes the experience has changed they way he thinks about his profession as a science teacher.

Abud, 28, is a finalist among four teachers throughout Michigan being considered for the Teacher of the Year award for 2013/14 from the Michigan Department of Education.

He teaches physics and chemistry at Grosse Pointe North High School.

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To even have the opportunity to be considered initially, teachers must be nominated, which is considered and then if the Department of Education believes the teacher is worthy of participation, he or she is invited to apply.

Abud received a letter at the end of November from the Michigan Department of Education. He's tried to figure out who nominated him but he hasn't figured it out yet, he said.

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He spent winter break preparing his application, which includes standard items such as a curriculum vitae and letters of recommendation. It also includes eight essays that are answers or responses to questions posed by the Department of Education.

In early April, Abud went to Lansing to be interviewed by the state board of education. Now he and the other three teachers across the state are waiting to hear--and there isn't a specific date. It's all part of the process, Abud said, explaining at the end of his interview, he asked about when he should expect to hear. He was told they couldn't tell him. They wish to surprise the winner, he said. 

Regardless of who is ultimately chosen, Abud along with the other three finalists are also invited to attend the state Board of Education meeting June 8 to be recognized, Abud said. 

Even if he isn't chosen, he said he's learned a lot through the process, for which he is grateful. The eight questions requiring essay answers have made him consider more his impact upon the education field beyond his classroom, he said.

The questions ask about his contributions to the field, to his colleagues through professional development, best practices in teaching and more. In analyzing his experience, he said he recognzes that when he first began teaching he always applied what he learned specifically to how it related to his classroom and students.

During his time with Grosse Pointe Public Schools, Abud has worked on a technology committee, has worked with district administration officials on projects for the elementary level and generated buzz about the use of technology in the classroom.

Additionally, he made a problem-based project used widely in other districts but never in Grosse Pointe come to life--the cardboard regatta, which is when students build a boat out of cardboard with the goal of racing in a heat against fellow students.

"It's not just a set of routines in the classroom," Abud said, explaining how the Teacher of the Year application process has made him understand more. "Keeping education in a greater sense helps me be a better contributor to classroom students and the field."

Abud says he thinks every teacher should be nominated for the award purely for the application process because of the amount of reflection it has allowed him to have upon himself and education. 

He credits his success to the many colleagues--locally within Grosse Pointe Public Schools but also those he's connected with from afar through social media and other engagement tools. Being connected with professionals beyond his physical building, he said, has been a tremendous asset. 

He is part of a grassroots effort in Michigan called #michEd, which is a cyber network of teachers and education professionals aiming to increase interaction within the field to help each other. 

Within the last year, Abud began blogging as well about education. His blog gained the attention of REMC Association of Michigan, which led to Abud being part of a project called Connected Educator Series. The series features the use of technology in classrooms throughout Michigan.

As a result of his application process for Teacher of the Year, he recently applied for and was chosen to participate in the Galileo Institute--a program that allows teachers to continue their education while also maintaining their presence in the classroom. He is one of five teachers from the district recently selected for the program, which focuses on teacher leadership.

If selected for Teacher of the Year, Abud said he will focus on helping change the public perception of education. Currently, education as a whole has "an image problem," he said.

Despite the many good things that happen daily in schools, the perception of the public is negative. He wants to impress upon the pubic the many positive things that go on in schools every day, he said. It's important for the long-term success of education, he said, so kids born now are not being educated at a computer screen all day. 

The interaction with a teacher and other students is of great value and Abud wants to make sure it remains valued. 

If Abud is selected as Michigan Teacher of the Year, he will be considered for the National Teacher of the Year award. That person is removed from the classroom to spend the school year traveling and speaking about education. 


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