In an off-the-court victory for boys basketball, Coach Carlin Shaw was named the 2025 Teacher of the Year. Shaw is a Social Behavior Skills teacher and a special education case manager, and he is the head JV boys basketball coach and an assistant coach for varsity boys basketball.
Assistant principal Gabriel Adame presented Shaw with a gift basket in the large gym, announcing his win on Jan. 16 during fifth period. Shaw had tears in his eyes as he expressed his gratitude for the community that motivates him.
“I’m not who I am without Ms. Georgia and Ms. Paula, and Ms. Shay and Ms. Henderson,” Shaw said. “On the basketball side, without Coach Fuentes, none of this would be possible. Without y’all [the basketball team], I could not do this.”
Shaw’s colleagues, Georgia Pina and teacher’s assistant Paula Hockaday, lauded Shaw’s patience and versatility in dealing with students and basketball players, changing his approach as necessary to bring out the best in each of his students.
“Students gravitate towards him because he’s so easygoing,” Hockaday said. “He meets them where they are, and he’s always willing to help. He’s always so calm.“
Pina shared that this achievement coincides with another milestone for Shaw.
“We’re really excited for him,” Pina said. “His birthday’s on the 24th, so we’re going to make it a double celebration.”
Shaw was a finalist for Teacher of the Year in 2024. The other 2025 finalists were James Hutcheson, Audrea Moyers and Nancy Honeycutt Searle. The faculty nominates teachers to be Teacher of the Year and then votes on the teachers who are named finalists. In order to be eligible, a teacher must have three years of experience and not have been Teacher of the Year for three years prior.
![This is Paul Pew's high school graduation photo. The 2023-2024 school year marked his 34th year of teaching. He began his career in Washington, then came to McCallum where he has taught for the past 17. At heart though, he’s really a musician. One that grew up in many different places, including Chicago and California, who took interest in teaching from a young age. His high school choir experience, along with some international singing in college, persuaded him that teaching was his path. He knew he wanted to be able to help create works of art in the fine arts department as well, so he joined McCallum. He’s worked on many of the musicals over the years, even before Joshua Denning, the former theatre director of the fine arts program arrived. Before him was a different director: Tatum.
“I was the music director for all the musicals,” Pew said. “[Mr. Tatum and I] worked very hard, and I just got to the point where I was satisfied with it.” Although he may not be as prominent of a member in the musical theatre community at McCallum anymore, he still plays piano. “I still do a lot of music down at the Music end of the building,” Pew said. Photo courtesy of Paul Pew.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Paul-Pew-1974-888x1200.jpg)
![Carole Keeton holds her granddaughter, Anna McClellan (who happens to have the byline for this article), and is surrounded by her other granddaughters, Kathryn and Michelle McClellan, as she gives her concession speech for the gubernatorial race on Nov. 7, 2006. Although, she lost the race, having her family there made it one of the highlights of her political career. "The [best] moments are the moments when the family is all there. And they’re there in good times, and they’re there in the tough times."](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/DP78C4-900x538.jpg)
