Anthony Burns, a local teacher at North Hills Middle School, was named the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher for the Month of January.

Anthony was named the Most Valuable Teacher presented by SAP out of 20 educators from across the NHL. Each teacher was selected for their use of the NHL and NHLPA-sponsored Future Goals program, which teaches students key STEM skills using interactive gameplay and real-world scenarios.

After a tabulation of fan votes, Penguins player Brian Dumoulin notified Anthony that he was selected as January’s Most Valuable Teacher.  Along with this recognition, Anthony received $10,000 from SAP, which will fund new technological devices for North Hills School District.

An avid Pittsburgh Penguins fan, Anthony utilizes the Future Goals program to further his students’ love for science, technology, engineering and mathematics through their presence in the sport of hockey.

“It is amazing to see what students can achieve when they are properly motivated and invested in their learning,” says Burns, who has been teaching for 12 years.

Anthony is heavily involved in school activities. He works as the scoreboard operator for North Hills soccer, basketball and lacrosse, and also collects tickets at football games.  Above all, he enjoys the time he spends inside the classroom with his students due to the lessons he learned as a student.

“I was very fortunate to have several exceptional teachers throughout my educational career. Their passion for the content they taught made me excited to come to school each day,” Burns said. “I entered into the field of education with the hopes that I could bring that same passion for science to my students.”

Anthony is the first of three finalists who will be in the running for Most Valuable Teacher of the Year, which will be awarded in May.