Garine Panossian, Armenian Language and History teacher at San Francisco’s Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School, has won the highly coveted California League of Schools “2020 Educator of the Year” award as a finalist for Region 4. Panossian was honored at a banquet on December 4 at the Basque Cultural Center in South San Francisco.
The CLMS “Educator of the Year” award is given annually to 22 educators statewide, representing regions throughout California who exemplify educational excellence and have made significant efforts to implement educational reform in middle and high schools.
Panossian has been at the forefront of advocating for our Armenian Language Learners and continues to lead with values, rigor, relevance, and, most of all, helps to empower students to have a deep understanding of their Armenian language, culture, and heritage while also knowing where they stand in the global world.
The award stemmed from the CLMS’ acknowledgment of Panossian’s dedication to “instilling a sense of pride in generations of young Armenians while focusing on the methodology of maintaining rigor in all academic classes.”
Panossian has been teaching at K.Z.V. for twenty-one years. She grew up during the civil war in Lebanon and was able to maintain her studies and expertise in Armenian literature and language. As the daughter of one of the Armenian diaspora’s prominent writers, Boghos Snabian, she is dedicated to sharing her knowledge of the language with the youth of the bay area. We continue to witness her tenacious work advocating and teaching K.Z.V.’s students to speak, read, and write the ancient language of Armenian and instill in them the deep sense of their heritage.
On behalf of the Prelacy Board of Regents, School Board, Administration, staff, parents, and students, we congratulate Panossian for this award and recognition. We are very excited to celebrate and honor her work. Her love and dedication towards our students are to be commended and appreciated.
EXCELLENT!!!!! ASBAREZ NEEDS TO SHOWCASE EDUCATORS ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!! PRIVATE SCHOOL. SATURDAY SCHOOL. PUBLIC SCHOOL. COLLEGE. UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS!!!!!!!!!