Nathan Baskett has received the Rotary Club’s Teacher Recognition Award for the winter quarter, the Santa Barbara County Education Office and Rotary Club of Santa Barbara have announced. Baskett teaches sixth-grade at McKinley Elementary School in the Santa Barbara School District.
The Rotary Club, on Jan. 24, presented Baskett with a plaque and $1,000 to spend on classroom needs.
“Mr. Baskett has high expectations for all students. He takes initiative, demonstrates strong teacher leadership, and is a team player. McKinley is lucky to have him,” McKinley Principal Elena Garcia-Yoshitomi said.
“We celebrate Mr. Baskett’s passion for the important work teachers do and his desire to elevate every student to be successful,” said County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido, whose office coordinates the recognition with the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara.
“We appreciate the support of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara and the recognition they provide to teachers,” she said. “These awards are a reflection of our community, which truly values education.”
Baskett said he plans to use the $1,000 to support literacy development, supplement technology needs in the classroom, and improve the array of flexible seating choices in the learning environment.
The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara has honored outstanding teachers from South Coast schools each year since 1986. The club awards a secondary, elementary, and special education teacher with a certificate and a check for $1,000 to spend on classroom needs.
“The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara has a long tradition of supporting the youth in our community. Honoring outstanding teachers like Mr. Baskett is one way we do that,” said Dean Axelrod, president of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara and associate director for Partnerships and Philanthropy at Direct Relief.
“There are so many outstanding teachers here, and the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara’s Teacher Recognition Award program is our way of showing how grateful we are for their work,” he said.
Basket, a Memphis, Tenn., native, has been working in the Santa Barbara School District since 2014. He received his BA from Harding University and his MA from the University of Southern California.