2020 Teacher of the Year:

Chris Dier

School
Chalmette High School
Subject Area
Social Studies/History
Grade Level
9, 10, 11, 12
More about Chris Dier

Chris Dier became a teacher to follow the legacy of his mother, a lifelong teacher. In high school Hurricane Katrina uprooted him to Texas where he finished high school and attended East Texas Baptist University (ETBU). At ETBU, Dier received a bachelor of arts in history. Following his graduation, Dier returned to his home parish in Louisiana to teach. While teaching, Dier obtained a master of arts in teaching and a master of arts in educational administration from the University of New Orleans. Dier, a ten year teaching veteran, currently teaches world history and AP human geography at Chalmette High School. He was voted the St. Bernard Parish District-Wide Teacher of the Year twice and recently named the Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. Dier is dedicated to providing an equitable and multicultural education to all students. He engages students by bringing aspects of their identity and culture to the forefront of their education. Dier was featured in numerous publications and outlets for his work in the classroom and the community, most notably The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. Dier was a Hollyhock Fellow at Stanford University, a program that brings educators together to create more inclusive classrooms.  While at Stanford, he developed an equity project with the purpose of legitimizing student language. He now participates in a professional development program at Harvard Business School. Lastly, Dier authored “The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields,” published by the History Press.

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