Jared Nebeker – Legacy Junior High School

Mr. Nebeker teaches Spanish at Legacy Jr. High and is one of the most deserving teachers I have seen of this award. My Children have been taking classes from him for the past 4 years and there are a number of reasons why this particular teacher stands out.

First, Mr. Nebeker originally was teaching on the college level. He reportedly became frustrated with the lack of preparation his students were getting in the lower grades. Particularly the failure of student to be able to use their Spanish skills in real life situations. They may have learned a long list of vocabulary words, but were unable to communicate in the language. This caused him to take unique approach to teaching the kids not only vocabulary, but how to functionally use the language skills they are learning. It is not uncommon to hear my daughter say, “Do you know what Mr. Nebeker did today? He told us in Spanish to go down the hall, down the stairs of on the left, do 5 jumping jacks, say hello to ‘so and so” and then come back up to the class room.” The kids listen intently figure out his instructions and love learning.

Second, Mr. Nebeker treats the kids with the most respect. At the end of last year he explained to the kids that he was so impressed with the hard work that they did all year for him that he wanted to do something hard for them. He invited them to breakfast where he cooked for all of them. (and not just pancakes….he made homemade sweet rolls).

Third, Mr. Nebeker has also served in the military. Whenever appropriate he wears his military uniform to school to continue to show his love for his country and helps instill respect for our country and for those that fight for our freedom.

After watching closely for several years, I am continually surprised at the extra mile to which he goes to provide my children with the best education possible. My children are eager to continue their studies in Spanish because of him. For this I am grateful and would like to nominate Mr. Nebeker as a way to reward his unparallelled efforts.

–Nathan Goff