Teacher of the Year 2011

Entering Allan Phipps’ classroom at South Plantation High School is a high energy, visually stimulating experience.Combining rigor and relevance with fun and energy, Phipps creates a thought-provoking and challenging environment for his students. He works hard to create a sense of life-long environmental stewardship among his students that extends long after the school day and school year are over.

Phipps, was named Broward Teacher of the Year 2011 at a celebration held today at the Broward County Convention Center. Each year, individual schools across the District honor one of their teachers as the school’s Teacher of the Year. These teachers are entered into the District’s Teacher of the Year program. The top six teachers in the District are then interviewed by a District-based committee composed of past Teachers of the Year, District administrators, union representatives, parent leaders and community members – and it’s that committee that selects Broward’s top teacher.

Phipps approaches teaching as a reciprocal relationship, giving all and expecting nothing less from his students. On major exams, he reviews individual question correlations between question difficulty level and student scores, to make adjustments in his teaching methods to ensure that all students are making learning gains.

He is creative in his approach to subject matter, seeing himself as a facilitator of authentic learning. Using traditional Japanese clothes and sushi, he taught a lesson on endangered species that ended with a debate about tuna fishing. To learn about carbon footprints, his students conducted an energy audit of their school. Many of these projects have been entered into regional, state and national competitions.

He has harnessed student and parent interests into furthering the learning process. When a student expressed concerns about the destruction of coral reefs, Phipps joined with the student to apply for grants to cover the cost of constructing reef balls. As a result of this collaboration, the team convinced SuperMix to donate enough concrete to make thirty 500-pound reef balls that Phipps and his students, along with dozens of community agencies, deployed in local waters. A sample of the reef balls is on permanent display at the Museum of Discovery and Science. These efforts won the Sea World/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Award.

WATCH THE VIDEO

ALLAN PHIPPS NOW A STATE FINALIST

2011 TEACHER OF THE YEAR FINALIST

TEACHER OF THE YEAR HISTORY