Position: Special Education/ Algebra Teacher/ Football Coach
School: Leland High School
School District: San Jose Unified School Districtr
City, State: San Jose, CA
Mike Ward was nominated by his colleague, Valerie Fulton
Mr. Ward is a caring teacher and coach at Leland High School. He provides positive support for his students on a daily basis. He helps model and explain concepts when teaaching Algebra. Mr. Ward offers unique assignments that give students different experiences. For one assignment, he had students build a house. They worked in groups to create a floor plan and looked up the prices for various supplies needed to complete their project.
Mr. Ward has also been a very respected and successful football coach at Leland High School. This is his first year as the head coach, where he led his team from 9 and 1 to 11 and 2, winning the league championship and competing in the CCS championship. He treats his players with respect, being firm but fair. He has taught his team to care about the sport and started doing end of the year interviews with each player.
"Mike Ward has brought his 'A Game' to our school and the students with whom he teaches," Fulton said.