Hillside New Tech High School educator is 2008 DPS Teacher of the Year
<img style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px" width="125" height="167" align="right" src="http://www.dpsnc.net/images/stories/newsreleases/Msears.jpg" alt="" title="" />DURHAM—Matthew M. Sears, a math teacher at Hillside New Tech High School, is the 2008 SunTrust Gold Star Teacher of the Year for Durham Public Schools. The announcement came at a banquet hosted by SunTrust Bank on May 7.<br />
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Sears is in his first year of teaching at Hillside New Tech, which opened last fall. Before that he taught advanced math at the traditional Hillside High School for three years. Sears also is a Kenan Fellow, participating in a two-year fellowship in curriculum design and leadership development through North Carolina State University. And next fall he will spend a semester in India as part of the Fulbright exchange program.<br />
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Upon finishing college and deciding on a career, Sears recalled his own high school years when he attended a school with a racially and socio-economically diverse population in St. Louis. It was that experience that inspired him to become a teacher.<br />
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“My best teaching comes during the in-between times with students, when we talk about life, happiness, success,” stated Sears. “I teach to increase opportunities for all students, to increase students’ chances for social mobility, to open doors so that they be made a part of circles that have been closed to their predecessors, and to increase students’ and parents’ awareness of our education system so they may use it to their advantage.”<br />
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Sears works with master’s students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who are pursuing careers in teaching, sharing his experiences, philosophies and teaching techniques. He also was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the Motorola Foundation which funds his students’ video podcasts of math lessons and documentaries about careers in math and science.<br />
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Sears holds a master of arts in teaching degree from UNC, and a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University.<br />
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“Matthew Sears is the teacher that every student wants in their classroom, every principal wants in their school, and every parent wants for their child,” said Superintendent Carl E. Harris. “He is a true inspiration to his students and his colleagues and we are certain that he will do a superb job in representing our district’s dedicated educators.”<br />
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