A Hillsborough High School educator was recently selected to be honored at a national level for his contributions to the academic community.
Robert Fenster, a teacher at Hillsborough High School, has been named a 2019 Law Related Education Teacher of the Year by the American Lawyers Alliance.
Fenster will be one of three high school teachers, chosen in a nationwide contest, who will be honored at an Awards Breakfast to be held on Aug. 9 at the University Club of San Francisco in California.
Fenster has written curricula for and teaches U.S. History I Honors, (Native Americans through Reconstruction), and Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics. He also conducts Independent Student Study with a focus on International Law.
The organization’s officials said that Fenster’s engagement in student experience in civil education extends well beyond the classroom as he expands his knowledge of law, citizen’s rights and legal thought with enrichment programs he attends during the summer and shares with fellow educators.
His students have won numerous competitions in Mock Trial, Model Congress (a program he created) and Model United Nations. His Mock Trial teams have participated in and won six county championships. The Model Congress and Model United Nations teams have won dozens of team awards in several competitions over the years.
In 2017, Fenster was named the Claes Nobel Educator of the Year by the National Society of High School Scholars. He has also been named teacher of the yar for the Jewish Guild for the Blind’s Guild Scholar Program in 2011 as well as several other awards including Hillsborough High School Teacher of the Year in 2004.
Founded in 1959, the American Lawyers Alliance, an affiliate of the American Bar Association, is a charitable and educational non-profit organization.
The mission of the ALA is to foster understanding and respect for the American Legal System by “Keeping the Spirit of Democracy Alive Across the Nation” and “To preserve the integrity of our legal heritage through citizenship education.”
Its members include spouses of lawyers, lawyers and advocates of the law. Recognizing the role that teachers play in law-related education, the ALA continues to sponsor its annual Teacher of the Year contest.
For information on the 2020 Teacher of the Year awards, or to request an application for membership in the ALA, visit www.americanlawyersalliance.org, ALA is on Facebook as well.
