Biola alumnus selected as CALIFORNIA TEACHER OF THE YEAR FOR 2008
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STATE SCHOOLS CHIEF JACK O’CONNELL NAMES FIVE OUTSTANDING EDUCATORS AS CALIFORNIA TEACHERS OF THE YEAR FOR 2008
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell today named five remarkable educators as California Teachers of the Year for 2008 on November 5, 2007 and Biola alumnus, Michael Long ('94, M.A. '99), was among the five recognized.
“I congratulate these five outstanding teachers who represent the best and the brightest in California,” O’Connell said. “In recognizing them, their creativity, focus, and enthusiasm, we celebrate the essence of what teaching is, and that is being given the opportunity to change lives. These teachers have proven time and again that such change is not only possible but essential to the future success of California’s children as productive members of society.”
“Mr. Long is an extraordinary teacher who puts in long hours both in and out of the classroom as he instills in his students a love and respect for education, especially for the written word as his parents had instilled in him,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. “He finds fulfillment in knowing that he has taught students to write, a skill, he says, with the ‘capacity to give voice to the masses.’”
Long earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies in 1994 and Master of Art’s degree in Education in 1999, both from Biola University, where he also received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential.
"We are praising the Lord for this great honor and are praying for Michael Long and his family. His prayer is that the Lord would be glorified in this process," said June Hetzel, Interim Dean of Biola's School of Education, upon learning of Long's achievement.
Read the full press release from the California Department of Education