Anthony Mullen, Connecticut’s 2009 Teacher of the Year, is among four finalists for National Teacher of the Year announced in mid-January. The Greenwich Education Association member embarked on his teaching career after working his way through college while rising in the ranks of the New York City Police Department.

Mullen is a special education teacher in Greenwich’s ARCH School, an alternative high school for at-risk and special needs teens. He says his second career as a teacher has given him a chance to make a difference in the lives of some of the district’s most challenged students.

“The NYPD provided plenty of opportunity to work with troubled teenagers – young people destined for prison unless they received the benefits of a quality education and positive adult role models. I wanted to be that role model,” said Mullen when he was named the state’s teacher of the year in November.

Highly regarded by students, staff and administrators, Mullen has taught in Greenwich for seven years. He has introduced several new courses to engage his students, including forensics, electronics, carpentry and horticulture.

Mullen is credited with having high energy and an enthusiastic spirit in his classroom, where his goal is to help students overcome obstacles in order to earn their high school diploma. His approach is hands-on and practical with a mix of good humor. In addition to Mullen, three other public school teachers -- one from California, Colorado, and North Carolina –- are in the running to become the 59th recipient of the nation’s top teaching honor. The national award will be announced in April by President Obama at a ceremony at the White House, according to Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), the group that runs the national program. "The Council is honored to present these four national finalists as representative of the great teaching that goes on in America’s classrooms each and every day," said Wilhoit. "We at CCSSO know that the responsibility of ensuring student learning falls squarely on the shoulders of the teacher and any of these four finalists will ably carry the message of learning to the American people as the 2009 National Teacher of the Year." Mullen will travel to Washington, D.C. in early March for a final round of interviews and for a presentation before the selection committee. He was selected as Connecticut Teacher of the Year from among the state’s 50,000 public school teachers.