Featured Faculty Member

Mike Hanlon, Kindergarten Teacher Extraordinaire
• 1997–TIEE Paraprofessional of the Year
• 2001–TIEE Professional of the Year
• 2004–Winner of the San Diego “Teachers are Heroes” award
• 2008–Winner of the “Excellence in Education Award” of the national Association for Direct Instruction

In 1995, Mr. Hanlon was hired as a teaching assistant in the Kindergarten class at Mt. Helix Academy (then known as Coleman Preparatory School). He so distinguished himself as a teacher of young kindergarten children that, after only two years, he was awarded The Institute for Effective Education’s Paraprofessional of the Year (1996-1997), an honor that rarely is bestowed on paraprofessionals until five or more years of service in TIEE’s family of schools.

In 1997, Mr. Hanlon was promoted to lead Kindergarten teacher at Mt. Helix Academy, the position he has continued to perform with distinction to the present. During this time, Mr. Hanlon has successfully taught hundreds of Kindergarten students to read, apply important mathematics concepts, and think critically. He often speaks of how important it is to him to be the first teacher that our students have so that he can provide the most positive foundation possible for their school experiences. Most importantly, Mr. Hanlon guides his students to love learning and to take pride in themselves as strong, capable students; caring, supportive friends; and responsible citizens. His teaching excellence and his commitment to continued improvement earned him TIEE’s Professional of the Year in 2001.

Mr. Hanlon is adored by his students and he has earned the respect and admiration of the many parents he has worked with over the years. Mike always sees the best in every child and never fails to convey this to his parents. Out of their respect and admiration for his work with their children, the parents of Mr. Hanlon’s kindergarten students spearheaded his nomination for the San Diego “Teachers are Heroes” award, which he won in 2004. Every parent wrote a letter in support of his award.

Mr. Hanlon truly believes that every child can learn. Over the past thirteen years, his Kindergarten students have consistently achieved close to or above the 90th percentile in reading on standardized tests that are administered each spring. In 2008, Mr. Hanlon was nominated by TIEE for and won the prestigious Excellence in Education Award presented by the Association for Direct Instruction. Again, nearly all parents wrote on his behalf, and so did his fellow teachers. We present just two of the many stunning commendations forwarded in support of his award.

One parent wrote: “Mr. Hanlon applied the same diligence and focus to providing his students with non-academic education. Megan learned about social responsibility, how to make and keep friends, respecting other people, conflict resolution and clear communication skills. It would be more than enough for Mr. Hanlon to teach academic subjects as well as he does, but he imparted the same passion to all aspects of preparing Megan and her classmates to be successful students and citizens.”

One of his fellow teachers wrote: “During the two years, I worked with Mr. Hanlon, I felt as if it was my second student teaching. Everyday I was able to observe someone who taught with so much compassion and felt so strongly about teaching children how to be students.”

We are very proud of Mike Hanlon and all that he has accomplished as a member of the Mt. Helix Academy staff and are pleased to have the opportunity to share a small fraction of what he brings to the lives of kindergarten students each school day.