Civics Learning Project names one exceptional teacher each year as their Civic Educator of the Year. This honor is presented to educators who have demonstrated a distinguished career in civic education, including a record of engaging their students in active civic participation.
We are honored this year to present this award to Matt Kellogg, a teacher at West Linn High School. Matt Kellogg began his teaching career at the Isabella County Jail, where he worked with incarcerated adults to earn their GEDs. After moving to Oregon, he worked in alternative middle and high school programs, based out of Clackamas Community College. He has been teaching at West Linn High School now for 23 years.
Matt currently teaches AP Human Geography and two law courses. One law course focuses on trial advocacy, while the other has a criminal justice and constitutional law focus. Each law class culminates with an in-house competition, essentially mini tournaments. In the fall, Matt organizes a mock trial tournament, and in the spring a moot court. The mock trial course also serves as a try-out for the competitive mock trial team.
Matt has coached Mock Trial for 20 years. His students’ teams have placed at regionals and qualified for state 18 years straight. In that time, they won four state titles and placed 7th in the nation. His students were Invited to compete at the Empire World Championships in New York eight years ago, and they have attended every year since. Those teams have finished in the top ten three times, most recently placing seventh at this year’s Empire World Championship.
Matt earned his BS from Central Michigan University in Sociology and Criminal Justice, and his teaching certification is from Concordia University. He has been married for 27 years to Kim, an elementary school principal. His daughter Makenna is a sophomore at West Linn High School and a member of the Mock Trial team. When not at school, the Kellogg family loves to go trail running, hiking, and pretty much anything outdoors.
Here’s a link to the article in the West Linn Tidings celebrating Matt.