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The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Presentation by Outgoing 2012 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Adam Gray

To:
Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
From:
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner
Date:
May 11, 2012

On Tuesday, May 8, I had the pleasure to name Kathleen Turner, a high school French teacher at Sharon High School, the 2013 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Kathy will begin her year-long term in June and I look forward to introducing her to the Board during the next school year.

I am pleased that Adam Gray, a mathematics teacher at Boston Latin School who is the outgoing 2012 Teacher of the Year, will address the Board at our May 22 meeting and make a presentation on improving mathematics instruction. Adam was named the 2012 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year in June 2011. Before joining the faculty at Boston Latin School during the 2011-12 school year, he taught mathematics for five years at Monument High School in Boston.

While at Monument, Adam founded Boston Public Schools' first Mu Alpha Theta (M.A.T.) honor society to recognize outstanding student achievement in mathematics, provide unique academic and enrichment activities, and encourage lower achieving students to be more consistent with their attendance and achievement. In part due to his efforts, mathematics achievement at Monument improved substantially during Adam's tenure.

In the 2011-12 school year, Boston reorganized and consolidated a number of schools, including the merger of Monument and Excel High Schools. Under the seniority terms of the teachers' collective bargaining agreement, Adam did not have the option to join the consolidated Excel faculty.

Adam works to inspire students and motivates them to accomplish their goals by boosting their confidence in their ability to be successful, establishing a classroom culture where challenges are embraced, and setting the expectation that greatness requires constant diligence. We appreciate his service to students and to the teaching profession and welcome his presentation to the Board.