Jackson Middle School
Albuquerque, NM
Mr. Shepherd is an exceptional teacher! He has taught four of my sweet perfect never obnoxious children. For each of them he has been the favorite of their middle school years. Of course he helped them learn lessons about history and geography but really his greatest lessons were about attitude effort being kind and taking pride in everything you do. He made learning fun for them – dressing up in costumes of historical figures teaching them dances to learn latitude and longitude and always singing a ridiculous birthday song (with choreography) to them on their birthday. He supported them outside of the classroom by attending their sporting events concerts plays and honors assemblies. He let them eat lunch in his classroom when their friends were not being friendly and he has stayed in touch with them since they’ve moved on to high school. If he did these things only for my four children I would find it remarkable but I know for a fact that he has “been there” for so many other students over the fourteen years that he has worked at a Title I school; a school where so many of the students are in extra need of strong male role models in their lives. Thank you NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES for honoring great teachers!