‘A fighter for children’
Dallas ISD elementary school educator is first Black man to be honored as Texas Teacher of the Year
Eric Hale’s childhood was marred by abuse and poverty. His mother struggled with drug addiction, and his stepfather had schizophrenia.
“Itwas a tough cycle,” said Hale, 40, adding that as a child, he had little hope for his future.
After years of struggle, though, he did succeed: Hale was recently named 2021 Texas Teacher of the Year, becoming the first Blackman to receive the honor out of the state’s more than 360,000 teachers.
“I’m the first to win it, but I’m not the first to deserve it,” he said.
Hale teaches first and second grade at David G. Burnet Elementary School in Dallas, where 98 percent of students live below the national poverty line.
For Hale, being an educator is about far more than teaching letters and numbers.
“I am a teacher because I’m chasing the ghost of the educator I needed as a child,” he said. “My mission is to make sure that children that are going through poverty and traumatic experiences get the hope they need.”
Growing up in West Phoenix, Ariz., Hale’s troubles began when he was 6. His stepfather’s mental health challenges spurred erratic and violent attacks toward his mother and the children. Hale and his two younger siblings did not have stability or support, he said.
“I was in and out of women’s shelters,” Hale recalled. “Mymom eventually had a nervous breakdown.”
He struggled in school. His teachers pitied him, he said, and none sought to harness his potential.
“All I ever received was sympathy, which eventually turned into apathy,” Hale said. “I needed action. I needed accountability.”
In seventh grade, Hale moved in with his grandmother in Portland, Ore., and remained there until his senior year. Living with his grandmother shifted his path, allowing him to refocus on his studies and his future.
“I started becoming more wellread,” Hale said. “I felt like nothing could stop me. Once I got out of the negative situation, I realized I was actually pretty smart and talented.”
Hale graduated from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Soon after arriving in Dallas more than a decade ago, he began teaching at David G. Burnet Elementary School and has been there ever since. He quickly became known for his unconventional teaching style and his steadfast dedication to his students and their families.
“The impact he has had on our campus is huge,” said Sonia Loskot, who has been the principal of the school for seven years.
“He knows what it means to be hungry. If a child is hungry, he will do whatever it takes to feed that child,” she said, citing several instances when Hale purchased groceries for families in need.
“He’s been out there when our kids have lost their homes to fires. He takes parents to shelters. He has always stood out to me,” Loskot said. “He is a fighter for children.”
Hale has a 4-year-old daughter, buthe sees all of the students as his children, too.
Tilia Sanchez, a mother of two of Hale’s former students, agreed.
“He is always going the extra mile,” Sanchez said. “One year, we were going through a very hard time financially, and Mr. Hale asked my girls for their letters to Santa. We weren’t going to have a Christmas that year, but he got them everything on their list.”
To this day, the sisters don’t knowthe gifts came from him, and it wasn’t the first or the last time Hale has anonymously granted a child’s Christmas wish. Every year, he purchases presents for a family that would otherwise not be able to afford gifts.
It was a thrilling moment for Hale when he found out he won the state competition, he said. Emotion and gratitude immediately overwhelmed him.
The state award has been around for more than 60 years. Before Hale, a Black man had never been a finalist for his category, let alone a winner.
“I’m not only inspiring children that look likeme or come fromthe same situation as me, but I’m also inspiring children who don’t look like me, who come from good situations, to see a Black man as a champion, a hero, an advocate and a quality teacher,” he said.
Hale will represent Texas in the national competition. A selection committee made up of national education associations will select four finalists in January, and in the spring, the president will announce the National Teacher of the Year in a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.
Hale said being a teacher is not simply his job — it’s his calling.
“I believe Iwas put on this Earth to advocate and fight for kids that don’t get fought for,” Hale said. “I know that some of the brightest minds come from the darkest places.”