This post is part of ACE’s Teacher of the Year blog series. 

It is my pleasure to nominate Mike Benjamin of Roger Bacon High School for ACE Teacher of the Year.

I first encountered Mike during ACE’s first semester in Cincinnati last fall. Although ACE was brand new to the region and still working to build our reputation in the area, Mike immediately recognized the importance of the work ACE does. He believed in our mission so much that he convinced administrators at his school to host a school-wide ACE assembly.

After the ACE assembly, a number of students were inspired to join the already existing environmental club – The Planeteers. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Mike on a deeper level through his work as faculty advisor for this club. Mike took time out of his busy teaching schedule to attend an ACE Leadership Training, bringing along a few of his top students. I was impressed with Mike’s effort to connect with students and teachers from other schools during the training, and after the training Mike took the initiative to connect with faculty sponsors from all the ACE Action Teams in Cincinnati to share best practices and advice.

As faculty sponsor for The Planeteers, Mike has helped spearhead the group’s efforts to create a school-wide culture of recycling, repurposing, and composting at Roger Bacon. Mike said that the team structure module from the ACE training he attended has helped him delegate tasks to club members and has improved the success of their recycling efforts. When given a tour of the school, I was completely blown away by the extensive recycling and composting efforts around the school, particularly in the cafeteria. When disposing of their lunches, students walk through a line with bins on either side to help them recycle as much as possible before throwing any leftovers in the landfill garbage. There are bins for liquids, food waste, paper, snack bags for terracycling, bottles, and finally landfill. If you walk down a hallway, you will notice white bins to collect electronics, ink cartridges, batteries, bottles, and office supplies. If you need to charge your cell phone, The Planeteers can also help you with that at their solar cell phone charging station! Finally, outside you will see the compost bins and garden where students can see recycling in its most basic and natural form. I’ve never seen a school waste system this detailed and successful!

The Planeteers also coordinate paper, plastic, and aluminum recycling along with their terracycling program. Mike and The Planeteers have worked hard this year to convert Roger Bacon into a “Zero Waste” school, and they are currently competing in the Cincinnati Zoo’s Zero Landfill Challenge to continue inspiring the student body and local community to be environmentally responsible. In December, they also coordinated an Eco-Challenge, encouraging the school community to take positive environmental action by challenging classrooms to compete against one another to save energy and waste.

Mike has been teaching for 13 years and was driven to this profession by his passion to make a difference in the lives of students and his desire to help others reach their full potential. In addition to volunteering as faculty sponsor for the Planeteers, Mike stays busy as Head of the Science Department. He also serves on the teacher based team for the honors program, where he recently coordinated speakers and topics for an honors lecture seminar that addressed the importance of recruiting underrepresented populations in the STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). There was a great response to the program, and he hopes to expand the series in the future to include the entire student body.

Mike’s favorite part of teaching is witnessing a student have an “aha moment” where he or she finally understands subject material that was previously a struggle to comprehend. Additionally, Mike says it’s always a joy for him to see where former students are today.

Mike has always had a passion for environmental issues at some level. When I asked Mike why he continues to dedicate his spare time to environmental causes he said, “Everything is connected on this planet. If we don’t pay attention to the problems we are facing, they are not going to get better.” It’s quite clear that Mike’s passion drives him to go the extra mile above and beyond his duties as a teacher. I hope you can see how dedicated Mike is to ACE’s mission and how many lives he has touched. Please join me in honoring his accomplishments and vote for Mike Benjamin as ACE Teacher of the Year!