LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Joshua Lach's nominator would like to remain anonymous.

Mr. Lach is wholeheartedly a LifeChanger for his students. Not only does he wake up every morning, going to school with a positive attitude, but he puts in so much effort outside of school to make his lessons engaging for his students.

Mr. Lach teaches in an urban, Title 1 middle school in the same school district he attended as a student. He tries every day to have the same impact on his students that his former teachers (and, in some instances, now his colleagues) had on him.

Mr. Lach is currently working on his Master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and has many multilingual learners. He strives to be the best teacher he can be for them and to be a fervent advocate for them daily, fighting for what they need and deserve. Mr. Lach might technically be a math teacher, but he takes his job far more seriously than that. Mr. Lach is an adult that his students trust, value, and respect.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Lach also has served on his school's School Improvement Team, working with school, district, and even state leadership to evaluate the needs and problems facing his school. He takes on this challenge with positivity, thinking about all the solutions he and the team can come up with to help their students best, focused through a lens of equity on the student groups that often do not get the support they need. Mr. Lach also collaborates with these leaders to create a budget for the school's needs. His opinion is taken seriously and valued.

Mr. Lach also is heavily involved in his district for curriculum work. He has evaluated curriculum, researched new curricula for the district, and worked with district leaders to rewrite the scope and sequences for math. Mr. Lach also is incredibly reflective, always looking at what he can improve. Mr. Lach attends various professional development sessions in his district, sometimes helping run meetings for other teachers. He shares the knowledge he gets from Professional Development with his colleagues. He is truly a team player.

For these reasons and so many others, both seen and unseen, Mr. Lach is truly a LifeChanger not only for his students, who are incredibly lucky to have him, but for his school and district.