2023 Educator of Year
Michelle Anderson taught globally, including in South Korea, Marshall Islands
By Keira Silver
Michelle Anderson
After 19 years as a Glen View Elementary School teacher, Michelle Anderson received the 2023 Educator of the Year Award for her commitment to empowering students as well as her involvement with the Gilroy community.
After 35 years of teaching, she accepted the honor from the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce during the Aug. 26 gala held at Fortino Winery.
Anderson spent her early life in Nebraska. She attended Phillips University for business administration and Fordham University for her master’s in international political economy and development.
She discovered her interest in teaching while as a Peace Corps member on Pohnpei Island in Micronesia. She taught around the world, including in South Korea and the Marshall Islands.
After returning to the United States and finding a home in California, she relocated her teaching career to Gilroy. She found inspiration to move to the South Valley after seeing a local school during a trip from Fresno to Santa Cruz.
Anderson became involved with the community. She volunteered with the Gilroy Garlic Festival as well the Gilroy Rodeo. She also took SELA (Sobrato Early Language Academy) training and went through the LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) programs, which was offered by the district, said Jayson Stebbins, the emcee for the gala, in his opening remarks.
Anderson described to the Spice of Life guests how she first discovered Gilroy.
“The drive on 152 (Pacheco Pass Highway) passes the old San Ysidro School,” she said. “It was seeing this school that I felt my first connection to the city of Gilroy.”
She explained how she became a Gilroy Unified School District teacher. After attending a job fair in Los Angeles, she completed an application for the district.
“A couple of weeks later, I was offered a job at Glen View Elementary as a kindergarten teacher,” she said. “And there I have remained to this day.”
As a teacher involved with local children and parents, Anderson found support in the community. Her first and current principals, family, and friends attended the gala to see her accept the award.
“I see dear friends who I have met, either working at Glen View or being part of the community of Gilroy,” she said. “I see my wonderful principal (Christine Vasquez), who allows me to be my crabby and creative self, every day, and makes every day a joy. She represents a wonderful staff who does their best every day for the children of Glen View.”
Anderson closed her speech by thanking the teachers of Gilroy for their dedication to students. She recognized how her own children are “the products of the Gilroy Unified School District.”
“Thank you for this recognition,” she said. “I accept it on behalf of all the fine teachers at this school district.”
Keira Silver is a senior at Christopher High School. She wrote this story with mentorship by Gilroy Life publisher Marty Cheek.
