Manhattan Beach Middle School teacher Maggie Mabery has been named California Teacher of the Year and selected by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson as the state’s candidate for National Teacher of the Year.
Mabery, who teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Manhattan Beach Middle School, was honored with with a surprise school assembly on Oct. 29. Known for her ebullient nature, Mabery beamed as hundreds of students, MBMS Principal John Jackson, and MBUSD Superintendent Mike Matthews celebrated her accomplishment.
“I am the happiest I’ve ever been,” Mabery said.
Jackson described Mabery as “the face of Manhattan Beach Middle School” and said she will serve as a great ambassador for the district as her teaching methods are shared statewide and nationally.
“It isn’t just that she’s a great teacher,” Jackson told the assembly. “It’s how she is a great teacher, and why she is a great teacher….She is an inspiration to us all.”
“She is on the cutting edge of what is best in education,” Matthews said.
Mabery was recognized particularly for her use of technology in the classroom, including iPad-based interactive instruction. Her classroom motto is “Keep Calm and Science On.” On her state application, Mabery described her philosophy of teaching and classroom environment as one and the same: “Noisy, breaking materials, lighting stuff on fire, out of seats, creating from scratch, active, group work, tech savvy, hands-on, engaging, intriguing.”
“Currently, education is at the dawn of its largest shift, not only as a result of the Common Core movement, but also due to the timing of the technology revolution,” Mabery wrote. “My students are at the front of this revolution and learning more outside the classroom than they ever have.”
Matthews said that Mabery’s use of technology is a model for other teachers, but also identified a more fundamental quality that makes her classroom a special learning environment.
“She’s totally joyful,” Matthews said. “I get joy just from being around her…She loves her students, she loves her job, and she inspires all of us to greet every day joyfully while motivating all of our students to be the best they can be.”
Mabery, originally from Chicago, has been a teacher 15 years, the last 13 at MBMS. She said each morning she arrives at the school, she still feels grateful to teach in this community.
“It’s such an inspiration to come here. It’s amazing, the support we get from the community,” Mabery said. “I don’t think a lot of teachers are as lucky as I am.”
Mabery was one of five of the 300,000 teachers in California recognized with the honor and will be the sole teacher advancing as the state’s national representative. A committee composed of representatives from fifteen national education organizations will meet in early December to review her application along with those from the remaining 49 states, five extra-state jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. In April, President Obama will introduce the National Teacher of the Year at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
“Maggie Mabery embodies everything our district stands for,” said MBUSD Board President Karen Komatinsky. “She is an exemplary role model for our students and personifies what we hope they will achieve.”
This marks the second consecutive year an MBUSD teacher was recognized as a California Teacher of the Year. Last year, Mira Costa High School choir director Michael Hayden received the award.
“We were proud then, and we are even more proud now that these two outstanding educators
represent the great teachers in our district, our county, and our state,” Matthews said.
