Kareem Neal
Teacher at Maryvale High School
Kareem Neal has had quite the storied career in education. Besides being adored by students, parents and colleagues alike, Neal was also named Arizona Teacher of the Year in 2019, and most recently, became the first Arizona teacher inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame—a nonprofit organization based out of Kansas that aims to celebrate the work of educators on a national level.
What inspired you to be a teacher? A Special Olympics event during my undergrad in college. I was inspired by the authenticity of the student-athletes and decided that I needed to be a part of that, and teaching was the logical way.
Your must-have school supply for the beginning of each year/semester is: I suppose just chairs. I believe in a decent amount of community building to start a year, so we do community-building circles to get to know each other better. I want everyone to know that our classroom is a place where everyone is respected, understood and able to express themselves in a way that is comfortable to them.
Best piece of advice for a new educator? Use as much time as possible to build connections and grow your classroom community. Everything, including academic achievement, falls into place when you build an environment where everyone feels connected.
If your students take away one lesson from being in your classroom, what do you hope that lesson is? To always show grace to their fellow humans. I try to show them how to embrace differences and understand that we need to love people the way they need to be loved, not the way we prefer giving love.