Phoenix special education teacher named Arizona Teacher of the Year
Oct 25, 2018, 1:38 PM | Updated: 5:52 pm
(Twitter Photo/@azedfoundation)
(Twitter Photo/@azedfoundation)
PHOENIX – A special education teacher at a Phoenix high school was named Arizona’s Teacher of the Year on Thursday.
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Kareem Neal, who teaches at Maryvale High School in the Phoenix Union High School District, received the honor at the Arizona Education Foundation’s 2019 Teacher of the Year Luncheon at the Arizona Biltmore.
Neal has been teaching for 20 years, including 11 at Maryvale.
He succeeds Josh Meibos, a physical education teacher at Phoenix’s Crockett Elementary School who received the honor last year.
Neal’s rewards include a $15,000 cash prize and a ring, and he becomes Arizona’s candidate for National Teacher of the Year.
Meet Kareem Neal, 9-12th Grade Self-Contained Special Education Teacher, in contention for the #AZTeacheroftheYear award. pic.twitter.com/4ZoCtmap55
— AZ Ed Foundation (@azedfoundation) October 25, 2018
“I believe developing meaningful relationships is critical to student success, and encourages a lifelong love of learning,” Neal said in an Arizona Education Foundation press release.
“Building relationships is the key to eliminating bias and moving forward in growth.”
He was one of five finalists for the honor. The others were:
- Maria Baker, early childhood special education teacher at Red Mountain Center for Early Education in Mesa.
- Ann Howell, seventh-grade science teacher at Colonel Smith Middle School in Fort Huachuca.
- Sheri Loyd, third-grade English language arts and math teacher at Mountain View School in Waddell.
- Jonathan Perrone, eighth-grade STEAM (science, technology, engineering and arts) teacher at Mountain Sky Middle School in Phoenix.
As Ambassadors of Excellence, the four will each receive $5,000 plus other perks.
