Marty Manning from 99.9 KEZ and Delynn Bodine from Rio Salado College present Dan Phan with his award. - Chieftain Yearbook
Dang Phan Receives ‘Excellence in Education’ Award
By Andrew Lei, junior
In
the middle of his Math Standards class on Sept. 13, math teacher Dang
Phan looked up in surprise as nearly a dozen visitors made the long trek
to P71 and trooped into his room. The visitors included Marty Manning
from 99.9 KEZ and Delynn Bodine from Rio Salado College who surprised
Mr. Phan during his third hour to present him the September “Excellence
in Education” award. With the award, Mr. Phan was presented $99, an
“Excellence in Education” plaque, and a bag from Rio Salado College
containing a few more items.
Mr.
Phan was nominated by Westwood parent Anna Clermont, who has had two of
her children taught by Mr. Phan. In her nomination letter, Mrs.
Clermont wrote:
“Mr.
Phan is truly passionate about mathematics. From the first moment we
met him at open house 4 years ago, WE became excited about math! He
teaches with such a zeal that he inspires his students to do their best
and strive to learn more.”
She
added that as the coach for Academic Decathlon, he continues to inspire
and to motivate his students to constantly improve their skills. “He
has taught two of my children who are sophomores at Barrett Honor's
College at ASU. Both joined Academic Decathlon because of Mr. Phan, and
my son was so inspired by [him] that he chose to major in math at ASU.
He is now a TA for two ASU calculus classes. My daughter was also
inspired by Mr. Phan and, combined with her love for science and math,
is now majoring in Chemical Engineering.”
She ended, “We are proud to have had Mr. Phan teach our children and know that their lives were profoundly impacted by him.”
As he accepted the award, Mr. Phan expressed his gratitude and thanked the community at Westwood.
“I
think that the students, and faculty, and the wonderful administration
that we have, serve and back up, and have the same vision that really is
excellence in education, and really helps students reach their full
potential,” said Mr. Phan.
Also
present as Mr. Phan was presented his award was senior Madeleine
Clermont, who later said, “I’m really pleased [Mr. Phan] won the
Excellence in Education award my mother nominated him for. Hopefully
this motivates other students to nominate their teachers so this can
happen again.”
After
his visitors left, Mr. Phan joked to his class that since Rio Salado
and KEZ had given him a check, he had really only won about $70, after
taxes. He also said his wife complained about the clothes he was wearing
when she later saw the photo.
A
video of Mr. Phan receiving his award can be found on YouTube, by
searching for “Excellence in Education Dan Phan Westwood HS.”
Mr.
Phan has been teaching at Westwood High School for nine years. He
graduated from here in 1998. He currently teaches Honors Geometry and
Standards Mathematics and co-coaches for Academic Decathlon with English
teacher Marla Rountree.