Teacher of the Year was announced on April 24 and awarded to Tina Wan, who teaches math and AVID at Del Mar High School.
The voting process for teacher of the year was completed through teacher voting. Students were not included in or informed about the awarded title, despite many students possibly knowing the teachers who had won.
Wan has taught for 12 years and is currently in her third year at Del Mar.
“I started as an elementary school teacher,” said Ms Wan, “I taught elementary school for three years, and then I taught middle school for six years.”
Before Wan became a teacher, she had been a lawyer. She studied criminology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and even went to law school, but in the end, she decided to return to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
“When I was practicing law, I was actually very unhappy, and I started doing volunteer work with kids on the weekends, and I really enjoyed it. I realized I could do this for a living, and that’s what happened,” said Wan.
Wan describes her teaching style as “structured, with clear expectations in the classroom.” She believes that her background as a lawyer may have influenced the way she teaches.
“I think even though my students might not necessarily appreciate me being strict when they’re in my class, they do tend to appreciate it later, because they often will come back and tell me,” said Wan.
The environment at this school allowed Wan to grow as a teacher.
“I just feel so lucky and grateful to be part of this community because I think I am the teacher I am today because of the people I work with,” said Wan.
Outside of school, Wan has many different interests, but most of her time is spent with her four-year-old son. She does enjoy collecting miniature toys like Calico Critters and even RoLife dioramas.
Wan is grateful for being awarded Teacher of the Year, especially as fellow staff members selected it.
“I feel very honored,” Wan said. “I just feel really grateful to, you know, be chosen and to just like to be here. I just really love working here.”
