ON Semiconductor Supports Arizona Educational Foundation’s Teacher of the Year

At ON Semiconductor, we are committed to serving the needs of communities through the investment of resources and through a recent grant, we were able to support the Arizona Educational Foundation (AEF). AEF’s mission is to administer programs that identify, develop and celebrate excellence in grades Pre-K through 12th in Arizona’s public education through business and community partnerships.

In order for STEM education to improve in Arizona, the need for highly-trained STEM educators is critical. And with this grant, this charity worked to address this by training teachers to be compelling advocates; inspiring high school students entering the education profession to pursue teaching degrees in STEM and instilling the understanding of the importance of STEM in new principals.

Additionally, this funding helped grow their Arizona Teacher of the Year (AZTOY) program elevates the teaching profession and casts a spotlight on the need and critical importance for high-quality educators in every classroom. Each year, AEF's AZTOY program identifies the top five teachers around the state, and one teacher is named the Teacher of the Year while the other four finalists are named Ambassadors for Excellence.

Teachers selected for this honor include educators representing STEM, special education and all other content areas. AEF provides the top five teachers each year with on-going professional development, as well as the top five from prior years, to help them continue their own educational journey as master educators. And as part of ON Semiconductor’s donation, we were able to allow seven teachers to attend AEF’s Awards event at no cost.

Late last year, AEF welcomed a new #AZTeacheroftheYear to their family, Kareem Neal from Maryvale High School - where he is the self-contained special education teacher (Phoenix Union High School District). Neal has taught for 20 years, including 11 at Maryvale, teaching Community Based Training for students who have moderate to severe disabilities to access academic content standards through modified curriculum.

Neal has a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.A. in special education and has extensive training in applied behavior analysis and sensory integration techniques. He has developed the curriculum that the district uses for every subject in the self-contained special education classes.

He is also the sponsor of his school’s diversity club and the vice-president of the Phoenix Union High School District’s Black Alliance. He has been recognized for the National Education Association’s Diversity Grant, The Maryvale Revitalization Committee’s Educator Excellence Award and Teacher of the Year at Maryvale High School.

“I believe developing meaningful relationships is critical to student success, and encourages a life-long love of learning. Building relationships is the key to eliminating bias and moving forward in growth,” said Neal.

As Arizona’s Teacher of the Year, Neal becomes a candidate for National Teacher of the Year, has the opportunity to meet the U.S. President and receives $15,000, along with many other honoraria, including a week at the International Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., professional speech training, consideration to receive an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University, a full scholarship to Argosy University in Phoenix, and an Arizona K12 Center Scholarship to pursue National Board Certification.

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