PHOENIX — A computer science teacher in Laveen got a big surprise this week! He was named Teacher of the Year and won a $30,000 prize package for his efforts.
Thanks to his passion for technology and work to start a robotics club at his school, Jessie MicKinley with Madison Camelview Elementary School has been named an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year.
"Jessie is one of 10 teachers from across the U.S. that Amazon has recognized for going above and beyond to inspire students from historically underrepresented communities to build fundamental coding skills and for promoting diversity and inclusion in the tech industry," the organization said in a release.
MicKinley has always been passionate about tech and started the robotics and coding club to help change a student's life.
As part of the prize package, MicKinley's school is receiving $25,000 to expand computer science education on their campus, and MicKinley himself is going home with $5,000 in cash.
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