2014 - Regional Teacher of the Year - Matthew Brewer

Matt teaches science and is the department chair at Soap Lake Middle & High School. Nearly every student who graduates from Soap Lake will have taken at least one class from Matt. For him teaching truly is a calling. He describes it as what he was born to do.



Matt is passionate about providing opportunities to students and families in his remote community and combatting the devastating effects of poverty on student achievement. He organizes math and science nights and arranged to host Central Washington’s portable planetarium in an effort to create a culture of scientific inquiry in his community. His expert use of new media is building a new set of skills into his curriculum, exposing students to research from around the world and giving his colleagues fresh ideas for their own classrooms.



Matt believes teacher evaluations should be personal and specific. He advocates for substantive accountability and argues that if we expect teachers to treat each student differently then we must view teachers as individuals with unique strengths and challenges.



“Matt is not only everything written on his resume and more, he truly cares for each and every student,” says Principal Rick Winters. “He will spend many more hours on the job than anyone could anticipate and produce incredible results with new and innovative twists the pique student interest. Rarely do you find such an intelligent person with the patience to match.”