Meet the teacher

I have taught middle school for three decades in the Alamance-Burlington School System. I am licensed to teach social studies (6-9), science (6-9), language arts (6-9), Elementary Education (K-6) and the Academically & Intellectually Gifted (K-12).

My wife is a former math teacher and school counselor who is currently the Middle School Career Development Coordinator in several of the traditional middle schools in ABSS. We have three children: our oldest, a graduate of Western Carolina University, is a graphic design specialist at a digital marketing company, our middle child is a sophomore at Elon University majoring in Environmental Engineering, and our youngest is a sophomore at the Alamance-Burlington Early College at Alamance Community College. 

I was the first recipient of the Burlington Times-News's Newspapers in Education Teacher of the Year Award in 1997. I am a National Board Certified Teacher. I was the 2005 North Carolina Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year and received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the National Council for Geographic Education the same year. In 2013 I received the North Carolina Press Foundation's Dave Jones Award for promoting Youth Reading and Civic Engagement. In 2022 for a second time I was named the North Carolina Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year.

My social media identity is @ElonTeacher. I came up with the name to pay homage to Elon University from where my mom and I both graduated -- I actually have two degrees from Elon. It is also the area where I grew up and have taught.