Tony Schiera, a 10th grade English teacher and yearbook adviser at Ware Shoals High School in Greenwood School District 51, has been chosen to serve on Teach Plus’ third National Teacher Policy Cabinet.
Teach Plus is a national nonprofit that empowers teachers as leaders to enhance student outcomes and opportunities.
Silvia Martinez, Teach Plus national policy manager, said “it is an honor to be able to offer him a seat” on the cabinet.
“Dr. Schiera has dedicated his career to education and public service and envisions a fair and bright future for all his students and his colleagues,” Martinez said. “His experience as an academic and an educator both at home and abroad demonstrates a deep understanding of what a world class education could look like for students around the country.”
Schiera’s teaching career has taken him around the world, giving him the opportunity to work with students from diverse cultures and backgrounds while fulfilling his passion for travel.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in teaching from the University of New Mexico, he set two goals: traveling the world and eventually earning a doctorate.
“Teaching became a way to travel and live overseas instead of being a tourist,” Schiera said. “Living overseas allows me to experience life as an expatriate, as a foreigner in a foreign land, learn languages and learn about new cultures in a deeper way than by just visiting.”
His journey in education began at a small language school in South Korea, where he taught English as a foreign language.
After some time there, he returned to the United States before accepting a teaching position in Ecuador.
He later earned a Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other
