RM social studies teacher Pete Beach was announced as one of three finalists for this year’s MCPS Teacher of the Year Feb. 19. Mr. Beach, along with Meredith Luther, kindergarten teacher at Rock Creek Forest Elementary School, and Megan Campbell, instrumental music teacher at Parkland Middle School, were recognized for their outstanding teaching efforts and welcoming classroom communities. The winner will be announced May 6 and move on to compete for Maryland Teacher of the Year.
As a Montgomery County native, Mr. Beach graduated from Walter Johnson High School in 1991 and went to the University of Maryland. He taught in Prince George’s County for a few years before moving to RM in 2001, and this year marks his 30th year of teaching.
Although Mr. Beach prefers to stay out of the limelight, he was excited to be a finalist. “Oh my goodness, this is pretty cool,” Mr. Beach said. “I’ve been hearing from kids I taught in the ‘90s, like, emailing me or Facebooking me, and so it makes an old guy feel good that I think I’ve had an impact on a lot of kids.”
After being nominated by magnet coordinator Joseph Jelen in the fall, Mr. Beach discovered his finalist status while visiting his son in San Diego. “I had to come up with a resume, which I hadn’t done in 30 years, so I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere,” he said. “Then I saw the email…it was very nice, especially since I was there with my kid and my wife.”
Mr. Beach was inspired to begin teaching by his mother, a biology teacher at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. “My mama was a single mom and she raised me and my brother…so if I was sick or whatever, I’d have to go to Mom’s classroom,” he said. “She was the greatest human being and her [students], like, adored her. I think I just saw that growing up and had to figure out what I was going to do, and it just kind of came back from it.”
Throughout his entire career, Mr. Beach has taught only U.S. history, including AP, Honors and MYP variations of the class. He most enjoys teaching about the Civil War and immigration. “A lot of the kids I teach are children of immigrants or immigrants [themselves], so I try to weave that into everything we do, because our country is a country of people who came from other places,” Mr. Beach said.
Mr. Beach was previously tapped by MCPS to train other AP U.S. History teachers and advised middle school teachers on preparing students for AP courses. He enjoys fame within the halls of RM for his engaging lessons, and his classroom has been praised for its inclusion of every student.
He doesn’t have a special teaching technique beyond being passionate about history and connecting with kids. “History is an easy subject to kind of make connections as opposed to math, so there’s just so many stories and so many things that happened 100 years ago that apply to kids today,” Mr. Beach said. “That’s what I try as much as I can—[to] get to know the kids and teach them history along the way.”
As an experienced teacher, Mr. Beach’s favorite part of his career is watching his students grow. “I love teaching [AP students], but [especially] my ninth graders who aren’t coming to school with as much as a lot of the other kids,” he said. “Anytime you can make a connection with one of those kids, and you see them graduate three years later…like, those moments are the ones that are amazing.”
Students and staff have nothing but praise for Mr. Beach, citing his passion, dedication and attention to every student as his shining qualities. “From the students who love history to the students who really do not enjoy the class, he spends time to work with every single one of [them],” Mr. Jelen said. “He’s an incredible colleague, he’s an incredible person…it’s really an honor for [RM] to have him be a part of our faculty.”
Students also admire Mr. Beach as a welcoming and attentive teacher. “After having had him last year, I thought he was a really funny teacher and he was very good at teaching the content,” junior Sophie Zheng said. “He was able to teach in a way that, I don’t know, stuck, it really stuck with me.”
From singing historical protest songs to reenacting British soldier formations in the freezing cold, every day in Mr. Beach’s classroom brings a new surprise. Zheng recalls one of her favorite memories when taking his class. “I remember Mr. Beach showing us this one video of him falling off his porch in his backyard. I thought it was pretty funny, I don’t know, I just remember that,” Zheng said.
Beyond teaching, Mr. Beach leaves a footprint in every hallway and staircase of RM. “He has the greatest collection of pants in the entire school, and I really appreciate the one with the dogs on it,” social studies resource teacher Todd Stillman said.
Next year, as he turns 52, Mr. Beach hopes to continue teaching and making memories with his family. His daughter will graduate college next year and his son is a Marine, so he plans to adjust based on their plans.
Although his future plans are uncertain, Mr. Beach will undoubtedly leave an impact on his community. “I can’t see myself not teaching some way or somehow, whether it’s here or somewhere else,” Mr. Beach said.
