Vancouver teacher named region’s Teacher of the Year
Mark Ray has been named Educational Service District 112 region Teacher of the Year (TOY). A teacher at Skyview High School in Vancouver, Ray is one of nine finalists from around the state for the Washington State Teacher of the Year Award. One teacher will be selected to represent Washington State in the National Teacher of the Year Program.
Ray is a teacher librarian and instructional technology facilitator at Skyview High School, a position he has held for the past 12 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Evergreen State College and a Master’s Degree in Educational Media from Portland State University.
Ray has been active in supporting educational initiatives in the legislature. He testified in front of the House Education Committee last spring to share some of the successes of Vancouver Public Schools. Ray shook Governor Gregoire’s hand at the signing ceremony for SB5392, a law that strengthened educational technology as part of basic education.
“Teaching is a profession, not a job on an assembly line,” said Ray. “Like a doctor, I have both the responsibility and challenge to not only ‘do no harm’ but to be accountable to an internal ethic that requires doing whatever it takes to get the job done. Thankfully for me, life and death are not part of the daily equation. But the lives of my students are, in way, on the line.”
Vancouver Public Schools is near and dear to Ray’s family--his father was a Vancouver junior high school teacher and his mother was a lunch lady.
Ray coaches boys and girls tennis, with a “no-cut” policy where all students make the team. The program has been nationally recognized by the U.S. Tennis Association. Ray is author of a blog where he writes about the challenges facing education and school libraries. He also plays an active role in student activities including serving as prom chaperone and emcee for student events. “It’s as much fun for me as it is for them,” says Ray.
Ray’s colleagues refer to him as creative and collaborative with a talent for engaging students in learning. He is described as an inspirational leader with enthusiasm and passion for learning.
“I have witnessed the transformational results of Mark’s work with teachers, students, and fellow teacher librarians. Mr. Ray is a strategic and creative thinker, and extraordinarily gifted communicator. The results of his thinking and work around the use of instructional technology and the role of the teacher librarian have had influence across the state and nation,” said Skyview Principal Kym Tyeyn-Carlson.
Ray will join other nominees from Washington at the state Teacher of the Year Award Ceremony, October 3, 1:30 p.m. in Seattle.
September 27, 2011