Two LMU School of Education alumni – Daniel Gettinger, M.A. ’12, and Laura Schafenacker, M.A. ’13 – were honored with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ 1st annual Inspirational Teachers Award. The United Way selected Gettinger and Schafenacker, both graduates of the LMU/Teach For America Los Angeles Partnership program, as two of 25 “Teachers to Watch” in LAUSD out of nearly 200 nominations by students, parents, teachers and community members.
United Way of Greater Los Angeles created the “Teachers to Watch” award to acknowledge the LAUSD educators who elevate the teaching profession and serve as role models for both students and fellow educators. The winners demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond basic instruction, ensuring that their students are given every opportunity to achieve academic and extracurricular excellence.
Daniel Gettinger is an instructional coach at Huntington Park High School. While at LMU he was named the 2012 Outstanding Graduate Student in Urban Education. He was also named one of LAUSD’s Teachers of the Year in 2013.
Laura Schafenacker teaches science and engineering at John Muir Middle School in South Los Angeles. Schafenacker serves on the school’s technology committee, runs an after school Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement program and recently became an LAUSD Science Fellow.
These awards are a part of the United Way’s ongoing efforts to celebrate teachers and the teaching profession as a whole in Los Angeles as it is a cornerstone to enhancing the lives of the next generation of leaders.
