LYNN — This year, Lynn English High School was home to two semifinalists for the 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Award.
The two semifinalists were Heather Lang, a special education and American Sign Language (ASL) teacher, and Michael Haddad, a Latin and Ancient Greek teacher. This marked the first time Lynn Public Schools has had teachers reach this stage of the competition.
The award, which dates back to 1960, is given to public school teachers who “[exemplify] excellent teaching in the Commonwealth,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Lang and Haddad were among eight semifinalists for the award. The award was ultimately won by Luisa Sparrow, a special education teacher in South Boston.
Lang, who has been teaching for 21 years, described the experience as “humbling and amazing.”
The two teachers and longtime friends helped each other out throughout the application process, Haddad, who has been teaching at Lynn English for more than 20 years, explained. “While we knew we were in a competition, it never felt like it was a competition between each other. We were supportive of each other the whole way.”
Haddad also discussed his journey that led him to teaching. While he had originally wanted to be a pediatrician, he ultimately decided to move into education and teach Latin and Ancient Greek, subjects that captivated him while he was at school.
“Setting goals is important, but it’s equally important to acknowledge that life doesn’t have to go in a straight line … If your path is going to zig or zag, you do that and you go with it,” Haddad said.
Regarding his teaching methods, Haddad said that as a teacher, it is important to recognize that every student has different strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, Haddad designs his classes to “largely reward students for the work [and] effort that they put in.”
Similarly, Lang emphasized the importance of being versatile and flexible as a teacher, pointing out that a one-size-fits-all approach does not always work.
“You might be a visual learner, you might be an auditory learner, [or] a hands-on learner … [so using] different strategies makes the whole thing way more engaging,” Lang said. At Lynn English, she has also started an ASL Pilot program that she hopes will continue to grow over the coming years.
Additionally, Lang touched on what being a teacher means to her. “There’s two parts to teaching,” she said. “There’s the part that you do in school [to] make sure their school needs are met academically. But there’s another part. There’s the mentoring part. You want to encourage those kids, [and] make sure that they thrive.”
