Headmaster Receives Ozy Educator Award

Groton School Headmaster Temba Maqubela has received an Ozy Educator Award—an honor based on nominations from former and current students.

Ozy.com, a media site, launched its Educator Awards last year and names five award winners annually. The other 2018 winners were Anna Spain Bradley, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School; Gregg Breinberg, a public school music teacher in Staten Island, New York; Patrick Devlin, an assistant professor of mathematics at Yale; and Lisa Harper, an English teacher at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, California.

Ozy said that Mr. Maqubela received nominations from "several alumni and students," adding that the judges were "moved and impressed" by the headmaster's work inside and outside the classroom.

After narrowing the field to about one hundred nominees, Ozy said their judges used a twenty-point rubric to choose the top contenders. The process, a spokesperson said, "is designed to identify educators who are talented at what they do, care about their students/craft, and serve as an outstanding example to others. They are excellent educators who create a positive impact that is also reflected in their institutions."

The awards were announced, one per day, during Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7–11. During the prior month, between April 5–29, Ozy prompted its readers to nominate educators by asking: "Know an educator who made you believe in yourself? Perhaps one who opened you up to people and places around the world, or inspired you to go after your dreams?"

The Ozy profile, published on May 8 and titled “My Anti-Apartheid Activism Serves as My MoralCompass," spanned from Mr. Maqubela's activity as a teen in South Africa to the GRAIN (GRoton Affordability and INclusion) and GRACE (GRoton Accelerate Challenge Enrich) programs at Groton—all sharing the theme of inclusion that echoes in the headmaster's messages.

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