Last week at an awards ceremony, the Superintendent of Public Instruction announced Maebori as Washington's nominee for national teacher of the year, which is awarded by the Council of Chief State School Officers during a ceremony at the White House:
Awesome. It says that Maebori left his previous job as a sportswriter to become a teacher, and has been teaching sophomores at Kentwood since 2001. Between sports writing and his current gig, he insists that teaching is his dream job. He's in it for the kids!
Maebori is a National Board Certified teacher who has taught sophomores at Kentwood High School since 2001. The former sportswriter for the former Kent newspaper called the South County Journal went back to school to get his teaching credential at Seattle Pacific University while continuing to cover sports.
Maebori, who grew up in Hawaii, says he doesn't miss journalism but he does miss Hawaii and his family members who still live there.
What he loves about teaching is that he does something different every day and that he's investing in something that lasts a lifetime, the young people of his community.
He teaches in a "blended honors classroom" where he has honor students, English language learners, special education students and others. He also teaches Kentwood's intervention classes, targeting students who have already failed to meet the state standard on statewide tests. Eighty percent of those students who are taught by Maebori go on to meet standard.
