Congratulations to Monarch's own Stephen Keiley, SDCOE Teacher of the Year!  JCCS
Teacher of the Year Keiley: “I’ve Got the Best Gig
in Town”
Stephen Keiley is a man of many talents, but if you ask his fourth
and fifth graders at Monarch School, he’s the happy tall
man they love to hug every morning. He’s also the 2011 JCCS
Teacher of the Year, who will represent the SDCOE in the San Diego
County
Teacher of the Year program. “ It is an extreme honor to represent JCCS and SDCOE in the Teacher
of the Year
program,” said Keiley. “I feel that through my experiences
in Court Schools I will be able to represent what JCCS is really
all about.”
Keiley, whose downtown San Diego school serves
homeless and at-risk children, ages 4 to 19, has taught in the
JCCS for 10 years. And
he loves it.
“
I have the best gig in town!” said Keiley. “I get to
teach some of the brightest kids in the county. They just have different
living situations.”
Prior to teaching, Keiley worked with the airlines and volunteered
at a Foster Care agency. It was the latter job that changed his
life forever. “I knew then that I had to go back to school and pursue
teaching,“ said Keiley. “That is where I fell in love
with children and teaching.”
Keiley returned to school, then became a teacher’s assistant
in Theresa Fox’s classroom. Fox has since been promoted to
JCCS Math Coordinator, but Keiley may have gone her one better:
not only is he now a fully credentialed and award-winning teacher,
he
adopted one of his students. The boy was residing in Polinsky Children’s
Center, a 24-hour emergency shelter care facility. “Adopting
my son has been one of the best things to happen to
me,” said Keiley. “He’s doing well and
on the right track, getting ready for high school in the fall.”
He’s not only his student’s teacher, he’s their
advocate. “Being a voice for these kids is my top priority,” he
said. “In today’s economy families are facing tough times,
we have to be that support system they need.”
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