We are all a buzz here at ESGI after our exciting Halloween Giveaway. The contest had over 200 entries and was one of the most fun and exciting contests we’ve ever done!
We are pleased to announce Michael Stanley, from Central Elementary School in City Heights San Diego, was the BIG winner of a free year of ESGI for his entire transitional kindergarten team! Each day Micheal posted a crazy new costume so we had to know a little more about this fabulous teacher and what he does for fun!
Mr. Stanley with his TK Team
Michael likes to compete in sprint triathlons and is an amateur artist and musician. He says, “I love being able to share these talents with my students. Nothing brings me more pleasure than being moved by a picture book and sharing it with my students.” He just started his 14th year of teaching, having taught kindergarten for 11 years and now is in his 3rd year of teaching transitional kindergarten. Michael let us know a little more about his school stating, “Central Elementary School is an urban school in a multicultural neighborhood. City Heights is the neighborhood immigrants new to the United States move to when they come to San Diego. Our enrollment is usually around 800-850 students, and we have students from pre-school to 5th grade. Our former principal, Cindy Marten, is now the Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District. Our current principal Liz Castillo-Duvall grew up in City Heights.” We couldn’t be more excited for Michael and his team to win ESGI, with our dual language (Spanish and English) parent letters and assessments, it’s a perfect fit!
Mr. Stanley as a Goofy Tourist
Michael feels his greatest success story is “that I get to see my TK students go to kindergarten with the skills they need to be successful in school. Their teachers come to me to tell me how grateful they are that my former students are the role models and leaders in their classes. The majority of my students are English language learners and I get so excited when I hear them take on new and challenging academic language.”
Michael is obviously not one to shy away from fun or exciting activities, in fact he once sang the Star Spangled Banner at a San Diego Padres baseball game in front of 30,000 people!
For a little more insight into Michael’s personality, check out some of the great costumes he posted over the course of the contest.
