Matt Penland – Mica Mountain High School
After his years as a radio DJ, Matt Penland earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University. He then earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from NAU a few years later. He served as a principal, but he returned to the classroom where he felt he could make the most direct impact and connections with kids.
Penland helped to plan and open Vail’s newest high school, Mica Mountain High School, and now teaches Algebra and Geometry there. “Why do I have to learn this?” is a regular occurring question from students, but not in Penland’s Geometry class. His students learn the applications by build their own Cracker Barrel Peg Games using their compass, ruler, and protractor, wood cutting, hole drilling, and painting. His students enjoy application projects like this one all year long!
Penland coaches cross country, soccer, and track, and he co-sponsors NHS and Thunder Awareness (a mental health awareness club). Further, he is known as the Diaper Drive Campion collecting 45,000 diapers as a principal. As a teacher, his classes collected 15,000 of the 20,000 this year at MMHS. How? Every kid bringing in diapers earned an ice cream sandwich! His students learn that service is a BLAST!
