EDITOR’S NOTE: Please note that Burt Grossman is the 2011 NFL Teacher of the Year
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will participate in a TEACH town hall forum with the 2011 NFL Teacher of the Year Burt Grossman and students at Banneker High School at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, June 16. The event will take place at Banneker High School in Washington, D.C. Duncan will highlight the importance of the teaching profession, encourage Banneker students to consider teaching as a college path and a future profession, and celebrate remarkable NFL athletes, such as Grossman, who have chosen to make a difference in the classroom after their football careers. Randall McDaniel, a former NFL player and teacher, also will attend the event.
Grossman, a former San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles player, is now a teacher at Hoover High School in San Diego. He was named the 2011 NFL Teacher of the Year by a panel of educators and civic leaders. Beginning in 1990, the NFL Teacher of the Year Award provided an opportunity for players to honor teachers who had the greatest impact on their educational and life-skills development. The program now invites school administrators to nominate former NFL players who entered the field of education after retiring from football.
The TEACH campaign, launched by the U.S. Department of Education in September 2010, encourages more minorities, especially males, to help transform public education in America by becoming a teacher. Nationwide, more than 35 percent of public school students are African American or Hispanic, but less than 15 percent of teachers are African American or Hispanic. Less than two percent of our nation’s teachers are African American males. To learn more about the TEACH campaign, visit www.TEACH.gov. The site provides information and resources for students and prospective teachers—including a new interactive “pathway to teaching” tool designed to help individuals chart their course to becoming a teacher.