Franklin High Teacher Wins Technology Educator of the Year

A Franklin High teacher is the inaugural recipient of the Nashville Technology Council’s (NTC) Technology Educator of the Year Award.

FHS College, Career and Technical Education (CCTE) teacher Brent Greene received the award at the 12th Annual NTC Awards Ceremony April 15. The Educator of the Year Award goes to a K-12 teacher who shows exceptional dedication to and innovation in the advancement of technology education. Greene’s work started with the introduction of the Autonomous Vehicles curriculum to Franklin High five years ago.

“It is humbling to be recognized for what you enjoy doing,” Greene said. “I started the program from scratch. I met with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) because they were working with autonomous vehicles at the time, but I didn’t feel their material was challenging enough for what I wanted students to be able to accomplish. Since then, the program has grown to include cybersecurity.”

In Greene’s classes, students get the opportunity to pick which problems they want to solve, meet with mentors in the business world and build products. From beginning to end, the students are running the projects.

“My classes are special because of the students in them,” Greene said. “We are student-led and student-driven, and I am their support. This is an excellent opportunity for students because they have to create a plan and then work with it. They have to deal with all the setbacks and the hiccups. They get to see what they can truly do, which is always more than they believe.”

Greene is always looking to improve and add to his programs. During the 2021-22 school year, he plans to start an eSports team at Franklin High. He is also working on a program called K-PHD that will allow students to earn college credit toward a data science degree while still in high school.

“I always have goals and ideas, and so do my students,” Greene said. “I do my best to stay at the cutting edge of where the job market is, so my students are strategically placed to lead in their fields.”

Ravenwood High computer science teacher Peter Mueller was also one of the finalists for the NTC Technology Educator of the Year Award.