English and journalism teacher Michael Tyler was recently voted by his fellow teachers as the district’s Teacher of the Year in ‘23-’24 for his efforts  put into improving the journalism and English programs during his 27 years at the school.

“I’m extremely grateful to Mr. Tyler for his dedication to the journalism program and its students,” senior Falcon editor-in-chief Victoria Hu said. “I feel like the amount of time he takes out of his life to edit and keep the Falcon afloat is so underappreciated. It’s a crazy workload, especially around deadline nights.”

As the Falcon adviser since 1996, Tyler has continuously worked in partnership with his students to develop a strong system to run the student-led publication. One thing he says that he loves most as a teacher is working closely with motivated students to help them express themselves through writing, meeting deadlines and creating the highest quality product possible. 

Tyler said he was surprised to have received the Teacher of the Year award, and he wishes to extend the recognition to his colleagues. Being the journalism adviser has allowed him to peek into every crevice of the school and develop a strong sense of what happens in different classrooms. 

“I’ve always been thrilled when other teachers received this award in the past because there are so many great teachers here,” Tyler said. “I’m honored to have received this recognition, and I think it’s also symbolic of strong departments like English because everything I do stems from teamwork with the other teachers.”