Teacher of the Year: Chris Dier of Louisiana
bit.ly/teacher-of-year – Chris Dier is the Louisiana Teacher of the Year 2020. He always dreamt of becoming an attorney. But during his college days, he got upset about the constitutional law course. Thus, when his mother invited him to observe her teaching class at Chalmette High School, he acknowledged it.
After seeing his mother- an expert instructor for more than 30 years, Dier found teaching as his career. He spent his childhood in St. Bernard Parish. But due to Hurricane Katrina’s floodwaters in 2005, he was displaced to Texas. In Texas, he studied a Bachelor’s degree in History at East Texas Baptist University. bit.ly/teacher-of-year
On completion of his degree, he returned to Louisiana and applied for a teaching post at the University of New Orleans. He registered himself at this University and done his masters in Teaching and educational leadership.
He chose the University of New Orleans as it offered a sense of identity and high-quality education. After he completed his maters, he pursued another program. He followed the steps of his mother and became a History teacher.
Dier has been a school teacher for 10 years. He was chosen as St. Bernard’s Teacher of the Year to act for the parish in the state competition. For the second year, he achieved the honor as the best teacher.
Dier was chosen as the 2020 Louisiana State Teacher of the Year at the state’s 13th annual Cecil J. Picard Educator Awards Gala convened in Baton Rouge, La on July 19 following months of interviews and making the list of nine finalists that were selected from above 200 applicants.
Dier said he was shocked when his name was chosen. He thought his name was given by mistake. He said his mother was in tears of happiness when his name was announced. Chris’s mother is still a teacher and she inspired him to choose the teaching profession.
Dier will stand in for Louisiana in the national competition. Dier said he desires to collaborate with other educators to broaden culturally responsive coaching practices across the state, “from Cajun united states to north Louisiana.”
In 2016, he was chosen as a Hollyhock Fellow at Stanford University that aims to gather educators to create classrooms that are more all-encompassing.
In 2018, he completed an Advanced Placement Summer Institute program at Fordham University and presently participates in professional development programs at Harvard Business School that concentrate on case method coaching. bit.ly/teacher-of-year
