Last night the faculty club at Hoover High invited Chad back for their annual end-of year party. Even though he's been at Clovis North for a full year, they wanted to honor him with the "Patriot Award," which is given to faculty members who suffer (serve) more than 5 years. It was really fun to see Chad with his Hoover friends again. Several stood up to "roast" Chad, but overall there was an overwhelming show of appreciation and admiration for all that Chad accomplished during his years there: his rise from newbie student teacher to head of the English Department, his Valley Championship with the forensics team, his consecutive trips to the state and national forensics tournaments (what sports team can brag about that?), his engaging style of teaching, and his overall good nature. I can't tell you how PROUD I was to be sitting in that room hearing it!While several other staff & faculty were also honored, the highlight of the night was, without a doubt, Chad's acceptance speech. There's no question as to why he's such a great speech teacher! It was a fantastic mixture of heartfelt and funny, and he kept us all laughing with his metaphorical tale of Joseph (Chad) from the beautiful land of Canaan (Clovis) being sold into Hebrew slavery in Egypt (Fresno Unified School District), and being a foreigner in the "hood" with his "coat of many colors" (aka Brooks Brothers sportcoat).
Despite the mediocre taco bar and watered-down drinks, it was a fun tribute to Chad and a reminder of how far he's come since getting that emergency credential in 1999 and all those late nights figuring out how to be a teacher. What a success story....makes me wish I could take his class! Enjoy the pictures of his hard-earned "Pate (Patriot) Award."
(Some things never change, though....it's the last week of school, and as of Tuesday night he had 90 [NINETY!] essays to grade by Friday!)
