About Mr. Burnett

Mr. Burnett was born and raised in Orlando, Florida, and is an alumnus of Orange County Public Schools. He discovered his passion for social studies first in 6th grade by participating in a mock trial, and later at Colonial High School while taking World History, American History Honors (AP did not exist yet), Psychology I & II, Sociology, Law Studies and dual enrollment Economics at Valencia Community College under the tutelage of many exceptional public school teachers. He also was an honorable mention in the OCPS High School Math Fair his junior year.

Mr. Burnett graduated from FSU with a degree in Political Science and History. He is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Honor Society of Political Science, and Pi Gamma Mu, the International Honor Society of the Social Sciences. Prior to teaching, he worked in retail management and as a licensed Series 7 & Series 63 Registered Representative for a national financial & brokerage firm.

In 2005, Mr. Burnett rekindled his passion for education when he began teaching in the K-5 science lab at Avalon Elementary, a National Blue Ribbon School. During his time at Avalon Elementary, he taught 4th grade for 7 years, and 5th grade for 6 years. Mr. Burnett received his Master's degree in Social Studies Education from UCF in 2008. He has also studied Reconstruction at Columbia University and the Colonial Era at Princeton University through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

In 2018, he moved from Avalon Elementary to help open and teach 5th grade at Orlando Gifted Academy (OGA), OCPS's first gifted magnet school. During the summer of 2019, he was a Summer Scholar at "The National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture – Manifest Destiny" at the University of Utah, and a Teacher Fellow at "The Separation of Powers Summer Teacher Institute" at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center. He was selected as OGA's 2019-20 Teacher of the Year, and OCPS's 2020 Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the year. The 2021-22 school year will be his 17th year of teaching, and he is excited to join Lake Como School as their new Civics teacher.

Mr. Burnett is certified in Elementary Education (K-6), Social Studies (6-12), English for Speakers of Other Languages, (ESOL K-12), Exceptional Student Education (ESE K-12), and has been endorsed in Gifted Education since 2009. He is a member of the National Council for Social Studies, Florida Council for Social Studies, and the National Council for History Education. Mr. Burnett has a passion of making history alive and teaching history through literacy, especially reading, writing, and speaking/debate.

Mr. Burnett enjoys traveling the USA and the world with Ms. Jennifer Thornburgh, who is an instructional coach at Aloma Elementary and a fellow FSU & UCF alumna. They enjoy living in the Audubon Park area, and playing with their three irrational cats….Dr. Jekyll, Ms. Winkie, and Stanley....and their dog Charlie who loves chasing three irrational cats.