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Rampart math instructor wins $10,000 state award

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Contributed by: Jennifer Wilson on 9/27/2006

Greg Andersen didn't have a clue.

Andersen stood calmly in the Rampart gym Tuesday morning as the students filed into their seats grooving to "Ice Ice Baby." He remained in the dark during the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem.

Andersen thought it was just a regular homecoming assembly.

Then he was surprised by the award of a lifetime.

Andersen, a Rampart math teacher, discovered Tuesday he won Wal-Mart's Colorado Teacher of the Year award.

"That in itself was enough of a reward, but the money's good, too," Andersen said, jokingly, referring to the $10,000 check presented to Rampart High School.

Andersen, who lives in Briargate, has taught for 21 years at Rampart, and the students must love him: When a Wal-Mart official announced the award, the students erupted with cheers and gave him a standing ovation.

Andersen's students fuel his love for teaching, he said. "I love the spontaneity," he said. Every teacher should experience the feeling of receiving a state award, he said.

"Every teacher deserves that opportunity," he said.

Rampart principal Gil Bierman, in his fifth year leading the school, met Andersen in 1986 as a fellow Rampart teacher. Andersen's dedication to his students shines through in his morning and evening tutoring sessions, Bierman said.

"He cares about them, and they know it," Bierman said.

Bierman said he knew about the award six or seven weeks ago, but Andersen never found out.

"What a moment. Every teacher should have that moment," Bierman said.

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