The following educators have earned the Outstanding Educator Award from the Washington State PTA for the 2020-2021 school year. We are thrilled to recognize these wonderful educators!
Mr. Anthony Marble
Mr. Marble has been an inspiration to the BHS community: his focus on students during the pandemic, and the thoughtful way he reassured students and answered questions and clarified district communication for parents. He was a staunch advocate for quality education for BHS students and served as a grounded voice of reason during a difficult year.
Mr. Edd George and Mr. Will Harvey
In a year when Jazz Band was not allowed to be a graded class, Mr. Harvey and Mr. George chose to run it as a club and put in the same amount of time and effort as if it were a class, meeting 8th period, twice a week, all year. Their dedication to this group of kids was spectacular. Mr. Harvey and Mr. George have continually found ways to engage the students and figure out ways for the students to play "together," consistently showing tremendous enthusiasm this year, both in online classes and in hybrid. Putting together a piece of music from individual tracks takes an amazing amount of time, but these teachers did it to make band seem “normal” when nothing else this year did.
Mrs. Leigh Nelson
Mrs. Nelson displayed an outstanding level of commitment, dedication and positivity during these challenging times. She embraced the one-on-one Teams weekly meeting with her students, bringing energy and humor. In addition, Mrs. Nelson initiated a letter-writing campaign with the goal of having every student at BHS receive a hand-written note of support from a teacher during the fall/winter quarter to support and encourage the students during the most difficult part of the pandemic school year.
Mr. John Hill
Mr. Hill consistently found ways to allow student involvement in sports by creating socially distanced workouts and training during the fall. He checked students at fields and courts all over West Bellevue, regularly staying late at night to ensure things flowed smoothly so students could participate. As Athletic Director, Mr. Hill faced the monumental task of cramming three sports seasons into three months and pulled it off with great success!
Mr. Steven Blatt
Mr. Blatt showed great dedication and devotion to students. For those who have fell behind, he set up Teams meetings to explain in detail what the students needed to focus on and how to catch up. He is devoted to his students’ learning and success. His caring and professionalism has been inspirational to them all.
