For the fifth year in a row, a teacher from Monterey Bay Academy has been named a Teacher of Excellence by the Adventist Alumni Awards Foundation.

Donna Baerg, the academy’s math teacher, has been honored with the award that includes a check for $1,000 and a free trip to Arizona for the annual AAA awards presentation in February.

“I feel truly honored,” Baerg said. “This award means a great deal to me, because teaching is something I love to do.”

Candidates are nominated through their respective conference offices of education. She follows her parents, Bob and Betty Baerg, who were awarded for science and math respectively and are now retired after 38 years; Tim Kubrock, who received the award while teaching history and now serves as the academy’s principal; and Steve Walls, who has taught English for 40 years.

This year, only 11 teachers were selected from the thousands in the education system of the North American Division, and only six of these teachers work at the secondary level.

“My parents were thrilled when they heard the news,” Baerg says. “It’s very special to me that I’m the third person in my family to win this award. My parents were both outstanding teachers and they love MBA. I think its incredible MBA has been honored five years in a row. I think that it’s a real testament to the quality teachers we have here.”

Baerg, an academy alum (class of ’86) received her bachelor's degree at Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif., and her master’s degree from La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif. She taught math and computers at College View Academy in Lincoln, Neb., from 1991 to 1998 before returning to MBA to serve as vice principal for academic affairs. In 2004, Baerg returned to the classroom after her mother’s retirement. In addition to teaching math, Baerg helps coach several girls’ varsity teams, is a senior class sponsor and is heading up the academy’s new National Honor Society chapter.

“The most amazing thing about receiving this award is that it makes me want to do even more for the kids I get to teach,” says Baerg.

For more information about Monterey Bay Academy, contact Jason Mustard at info@montereybayacademy.org or call 831-728-1481.