Excellent Educators is a WAVY-TV 10 initiative to celebrate local teachers who have gone above and beyond for their students and communities during the coronavirus pandemic. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments!
Name: Matt Alexander
Division: Hampton City Schools
Position: Eighth grade social studies teacher at Thomas Eaton Middle School
What the school division said about this Excellent Educator: In a typical year, Matt Alexander is innovative and consistently models caring strategies. As we all know, this school year has not been a typical year, yet Alexander continues to go above and beyond in an attempt to make sure that students see how much teachers care about them.
Alexander continually relates his topics in civics and economics to real-life events, such as elections, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, and ethical topics. Earlier this fall, Alexander held a virtual class from in front of the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court building while teaching about First Amendment freedoms.
Alexander has continued to connect with students beyond his instructional day by operating the school’s ecology club in a virtual setting. He has worked with families to pick up soil, containers, and seed for students so they can grow their own plants and vegetables at home.
Alexander has mastered a variety of technology learning techniques, including Zoom, Google Classroom, Nearpod, and Pear Deck. He creates engaging lessons, including one where the students served as judges and experienced serving on a jury. During this challenging year, he still gave back to the profession by sponsoring a student teacher.
He is an excellent example of someone who has helped his students to be successful. He calls easily 25 students every Friday, and he frequently makes surprise house calls and home visits.