Following a long line of outstanding teachers, PCMS science and biology teacher Brad DeHoff is the latest to receive the honor of being named the district’s Teacher of the Year.
DeHoff began his career as a research scientist at Eli Lilly where he was awarded two patents and was published numerous times.
During that time, a colleague told him that he was so skilled at explaining things that he would make an outstanding teacher. He grew up in a family that valued education, and in fact, he spent many hours outside the school day at school since his mother was the school secretary.
Despite his passion for research, DeHoff took his colleague’s advice to heart, and attended IUPUI where he received his teaching certificate.
And so the research scientist with a knack for explaining things became a beloved, respected, successful middle school teacher and academic coach.
As an 8th grade science and biology teacher, his days are filled with classes, and outside study and review sessions. Nearly every afternoon and evening you can find him attending a concert, sporting or school event of some sort. And for about five months of the year, he coordinates the Academic Super Bowl teams for PCMS, while coaching the Science team.
By the way, PCMS has won more Academic Super Bowl events than any other school in Indiana, with 20 state championship awards. Its science team has won seven of the 15 years they’ve competed.
When asked what made Mr. DeHoff stand out from the other Teacher of the Year finalists, two things seemed to be significant. First, the aforementioned support of his students and school, illustrated by his presence at so many events. Second, his dedication to the Academic Super Bowl process. In fact, he’s never taken a spring break vacation in all the years he’s been the team coordinator and science coach, because spring break falls right in the heart of their season.
In a world that will depend more and more on science, DeHoff’s engaging approach to teaching, his real-world experiences and his funny stories have transformed students. In many letters of support, students wrote that they thought they didn’t like Science, or weren’t good at Science, until they had Mr. DeHoff. After being in his class, many are considering science careers.
A transformational teacher. One that all parents hope their children will learn from one day. And Plainfield’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Mr. DeHoff!