Philip Levien, an English and performing arts teacher at San Marcos High School, was named 2009-10 Santa Barbara County Distinguished Educator by Superintendent Bill Cirone during the monthly meeting Thursday of the Board of Education.
Distinguished Educators make up a category formed to acknowledge outstanding teachers in the Teacher of the Year awards program.
“Philip Levien exemplifies what is best in our profession,” Cirone said. “We created the Distinguished Educator award as a means of paying tribute to the successes and the dedication that truly outstanding teachers display every day.”
The award was created as an outgrowth of the annual county Teacher of the Year award. This year, the selection committee, which included representatives of teachers, administrators, PTAs and school boards, expressed strong feelings that the application and credentials of Levien were clearly Teacher-of-the-Year caliber. The committee members could select only one teacher to represent the county for the state Teacher of the Year award. However, members felt strongly they should also acknowledge the excellence of this outstanding educator.
“This is our way of publicly announcing how very grateful and proud we are of his efforts and successes,” Cirone said.
Diane Siegal, an English teacher at Santa Ynez Valley High School, was named County Teacher of the Year in May.
Levien has been teaching English and theater arts at San Marcos since 1996. He also has served as a counselor for the SCWriP Young Writers’ Camp at UCSB; taught summer school and migrant education students at Carpinteria High; worked with the Children’s Creative Project in drama; and served as an instructor in drama, teaching acting and directing at UCSB, after starting his career as a teaching assistant at Crossroads School in Los Angeles.
“In this recent elections year, the claim was often made that our schools are not working,” Levien wrote. “I believe this not to be true; in fact, I believe that teachers are doing some remarkable things in the classrooms in the face of almost insurmountable odds.”
Levien attended a summer session in modern drama at Harvard University, earned his bachelor’s degree cum laude from Wesleyan University and his master’s degree in dramatic art from UCSB. His teaching credential was earned at Chapman University.
Levien also received theater training at HB Studios, The Loft Studio, David Proval and Erwin Stoff. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and TV shows, including Patriot Games, Beverly Hills Cop, Three Wishes, Full House, Knots Landing and Dallas.
Levien has performed theatrical work across the country, as well.
He is a member of Actors’ Equity and the Screen Actors Guild, as well as the National Education Association and the California Teachers Association.
Levien also has been active in staff development and training of future teachers. He was a Critical Friend for UCSB master’s in education candidates, was a Carnegie Fellow in the Quest Project, provided in-service for San Marcos faculty regarding teaching strategies, was a Fellow in the SCWriP program, served as on-site coordinator for UCSB pre-professionals and since 1997 has served as a UCSB Cooperating Teacher, working with student teachers and pre-professionals.
His long list of awards and recognitions include commendations from both UCSB and SBCC; being featured in a cover article in “California Educators”; being nominated for the NEA’s Human Rights/Civil Rights award; and receiving the Anti-Defamation League’s prestigious education award.
He also found time to coach youth basketball, walk precincts for candidates, teach at his children’s Sunday school, work for the pre-school PTA, become scorekeeper for his daughter’s softball team and serve as “foot soldier” for those leading important activities for the school and the community.
“A large number of my students come from language minority backgrounds, broken homes, poverty or the challenging world of disability,” Levien said. “I imagine some feel hopeless or numb on most days … If their personal condition seems futile, so does the world around them: economic collapse, terrorism and global warming. I have recently heard scholars in diverse fields say that we are faced with problems of such enormous magnitudes that only by tapping into our creativity will we triumph over these challenges. … We need each and every student to be the best they can be, to imagine a future in which they do care and are able. They must have imagination and critical thinking to solve their problems and those of the community.”
CTA president David Sanchez wrote: “Phil has always labored tirelessly to provide our education profession with the leadership and creative inspiration ‘to free it from the inequities based on race or ethnicity.’ … his skills and techniques help build and improve inter-group relations and construct a level of understanding and appreciation by the students that is rarely found in groups that are this diverse. … His body of work and his commitment to his students has broken racial, ethnic and social barriers.”
— Tracey Beauchamp works in the communications division of the Santa Barbara County Education Office.