On May 1, 2014, President Barack Obama commemorated the state and national teachers of the year at the White House. President Obama told the crowd teachers "set us on a better path," according to CNN.

"I still remember all of the wonderful teachers who made me who I am, who opened the world up to me," Obama said. "They set us on a better path, and they do it even though we ask so much of them. Teachers don't get an 'off' day, even when they're exhausted, even when you're up all night with your own kid, even when you've got bills or something personal on your mind. Once you're in front of that class, you've got eager minds depending on you."

Obama also congratulated 2014 National Teacher of the Year Sean McComb, who is an English teacher at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Baltimore, MD. McComb works with students in a college readiness program called "AVID" (Advancement via Individual Determination). 

"In the last two graduating classes, 98 percent of AVID students won admission to four-year colleges and earned more merit scholarship money than the rest of the school's graduating classes combined," said Obama in USA Today. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor