Carrie King, candidate for the 2024-25 California Teacher of the Year

One of my proudest achievements is establishing the AP Art & Design program at Mt. Eden in 2001. My AP students have maintained a consistent pass rate of 96% since 2007, compared to the global pass rate of 84% in 2023. And nearly 37% of my AP students have achieved the highest score of 5, compared to the CA average of just 15% in 2023.
As a veteran art teacher, I've mastered doing more with less. But I've also harnessed the power of securing funding through grants and donations, personally raising over $37,000 for my classroom from various sources, including a GoFundMe for distance learning art kits, multiple grants from our Hayward Education Foundation and since 2012, 36 of my Donors Choose projects were fully funded, including 11 in this year.
The funds I have raised and my AP scores are impressive data points. However, all the data in the world cannot accurately measure the amount of love and heartbreak that goes into a single day of teaching children whose needs go far beyond the curriculum. When I was in high school, I struggled with anxiety and depression. Fortunately, my art teacher, Mrs. Griffith, provided a safe space to exorcise my demons through art. I know I wouldn't have survived without her support. This profoundly influenced my decision to become a teacher and my teaching philosophy.
I teach because art saves lives; it saved mine. I strive to pay it forward and be the teacher I needed in high school.