Las Vegas social studies instructor named Nevada’s top teacher

By Paul Takahashi

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 | 2:52 p.m.

A Clark County social studies instructor has been named Nevada’s teacher of the year.

Jeffrey Hinton, a teacher at Northwest Career and Technical Academy, won the coveted award today.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, state Superintendent Dale Erquiaga and Clark County Schools Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky presented the 2014 Michael Landsberry Teacher of the Year award to Hinton during a ceremony at the northwest valley magnet school.

“Like all great teachers, Mr. Hinton has a passion for teaching that motivates his students to become lifelong learners,” Erquiaga said in a statement. “He brings a skill set to the classroom that improves his students’ knowledge and also inspires other educators.”

Hinton will represent Nevada in the competition for the 2014 National Teacher of the Year award. He will travel next year to Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama will announce the national winner.

Hinton has been at Northwest CTA since 2008 and has been teaching in the School District for a decade. He is chairman of the school’s social studies department and teaches U.S. and world history courses as well as a class on the history of rock ’n’ roll.

Hinton serves on several state boards that oversee social studies and history education. He also is a Clark County School District mentor and a social studies teacher at Nevada State College. Prior to becoming a teacher, Hinton served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Hinton has a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in education from UNLV. Over the years, Hinton has won several other teacher of the year awards.

Earlier this year, Erquiaga announced that the state award would be named in honor of Michael Landsberry, the Sparks Middle School teacher who was killed in October while trying to defend students from a shooter.