Jeremiah Young has been named the first ever National Teacher of the Year by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE). Carl Harris, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, presented the award on Aug. 27 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Young is a Beaufort High School biology teacher, and also serves as the children’s minister at Saint Helena Baptist Church.
Young“To be nominated for this award is an honor, and I am humbled to receive it,” Young said.
Young has been a member of Saint Helena Church since 1993, when he moved to the Beaufort area. Along with his wife, Jessica, and their three children, Young is active in the church and has served in youth and children’s ministry leadership positions over the years.
“During my acceptance speech, I was able to share my faith and read from 1 Corinthians 13. I could be the best teacher in the world and do everything just right, but without love for the children I would be nothing,” he said.
Young is a USC Aiken graduate with a bachelor of science degree in biology, and had planned to work for the Department of Natural Resources. After a local school desperate for a science teacher contacted him, he obtained a temporary teaching certificate to enter the classroom.
“God designed me to teach, and has called me to this profession. I love interacting with students, and making a difference in the lives of young people,” he said.
Young has since completed his certification through ABCTE, a non-profit founded in 2001 through a U.S. Department of Education grant. The organization has certified more than 2,500 individuals, and there are currently 10 states with public schools that accept ABCTE teaching certificates. The program’s flexibility allowed Young to continue teaching and serving on church staff. Now he teaches in the freshman academy at Beaufort High School, a school with about 1,700 students.
“My students and colleagues know that I am a Christian. I live out my faith,” Young said. At school he also serves as a Fellowship of Christian Athletes advisor, and leads a weekly morning prayer around the school flag pole regularly attended by as many as 50 students.
Young’s principal, Dan Durbin, nominated him for the ABCTE award. He cited Young’s influence on students beyond the classroom, and how he has encouraged many to be active in extracurricular activities. Young helped to change the student body’s election of a homecoming king and queen to be based on the students’ hours of community service and charity, not popularity.
ABCTE collected nominations for the award, held online voting and interviewed 40 finalists before choosing the award recipient. In the end, Young was one of seven finalists at the national level and had the most online votes among four state finalists.
“Jeremiah is an excellent, well-rounded human being. From a professional standpoint, I am very proud because it is nice for our school to have a teacher who is recognized by an outside organization. He is most deserving of the award, and is a fine individual who will use this to do even better things,” Durbin said.
“My passion is to make a positive difference in the lives of children. Everything I do is centered on that – from my career, to family, to church. It’s my life,” he said.