Shayne Klein- 2023 Teacher of the Year

Shayne Klein, is a founding member of the faculty of the Raleigh Charter School located in downtown Raleigh. Ms. Klein, the Academic Dean and AP History and Constitutional Issues teacher at Charter High School, was selected as a Law-Related Education Teacher of the Year by the American Lawyers Alliance. The American Lawyers Alliance, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of the law and the American legal system. Ms. Klein was chosen for her devotion to law-related education, including her 16 years teaching Constitutional issues in the national We the People Competition. Her class has won the state competition and attended the national competition in Washington, DC eleven times. 

Ms. Klein has trained teachers in the Representative Democracy in America program, has supported students in Moot Court arguing cases currently before the Supreme Court, and has encouraged her students to participate as Student Election Assistants or volunteers for a political campaign of their choice or an organization that helps to register voters. 

During the summers, Ms. Klein has served as a mentor teacher helping to train other teachers in the use of the We the People curriculum.

Ms. Lisa Huddleston, Principal of Raleigh Charter High School, wrote: “I have found her to be a wonderfully reliable, thoughtful, and supportive coworker.... Her passion and commitment to the education and well-being of our students, challenges all of us to question and improve everything we do here every day.”  Ms. Klein has a Master of Arts in Teaching social studies from Duke University and a B.A. in History from Amherst College.