EHMS Teacher Named SHAPE America District Health Teacher of the Year
East Hartford Middle School Health and Physical Education Teacher Michael Craig aims to bring passion to his work every day and positively impact his students when they’re in his class. Now he’s being recognized by SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators – for these extraordinary efforts.
The national organization named Craig among its 2022 District Teachers of the Year, recognizing him as Health Teacher of the Year for the Eastern District.
“Being recognized by SHAPE America for this award validates how hard we work in this community, and how hard my department has worked over the last few years to revise our curriculum to meet the new national standards, and to teach to every child, every day,” said Craig.
Craig had previously been recognized as a Health Teacher of the Year for Connecticut. EHPS Supervisor of Health & Physical Education Tracy Stefano said Craig stands out as a health educator because of his commitment to providing high quality, relevant and authentic learning experiences for his students.
“He continues to seek out learning opportunities and network with other Health & PE professionals across the United States to stay current with trends and evolve his instructional practice. He is passionate about the importance of Health & PE and how they play a significant role in developing students’ health and physical literacy,” she said.
SHAPE America will honor all District Teachers of the Year this spring at the 2022 SHAPE America National Convention & Expo in New Orleans. During the convention, Craig will learn if he will be named the National Health Teacher of the Year.
“Being recognized at the national level is an incredible honor and one that is so deserving, not only for him but for our department and EHPS too,” said Stefano.
Craig has spent his entire 14-year career thus far teaching in East Hartford Public Schools. He began his career teaching at Langford Elementary School before moving to EHMS.
He said his favorite part of the job is when he sees a student applying what they have learned in the classroom.
“For a teacher to have enough of an impact on a student that the student is doing push-ups, or reading a food label, or setting a goal, instead of doing the many other things teenagers could be spending their time doing at home, that is why we do what we do,” said Craig.
“To me, there is no bigger reward.”