Clayton Nylund, a science teacher at Blake High School in Hillsborough County, has been recognized as one of the top educators in the state. Nylund was named one of the five finalists for Florida Teacher of the Year by representatives from the Florida Department of Education and Hillsborough County School District leaders during a surprise visit to his classroom.
Nylund has been teaching physics and engineering at Blake High School since 2011, and his curriculum has been incredibly successful. His Principles of Technology course allows students to research, design, build, test, and compete with their projects while learning about circuits, coding, programming, and robotics. Nylund’s innovative approach to teaching has made these courses popular among students who are eager to enroll.
Nylund’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed. In February, he was named Hillsborough Teacher of the Year by district leaders. In his contest essay, he emphasized that he expects his students to bring nothing to his class other than themselves and a focused mind. This approach has paid off as his curriculum has been expanded to six other high schools in the district with close to 1,000 students participating.
The state winner for Florida Teacher of the Year will be announced on July 25 in Orlando. Nylund is one of the top contenders for this prestigious award due to his creativity and success in making science courses more engaging for students.
