Clover Park High School band director Dennis Dearth has been named the 2009-10 Mountain Region Music Educator of the Year.
Dearth’s fellow teachers in the Washington Music Educators Association nominated him for the award. Dearth, who got his start in music playing the clarinet in sixth grade, has taught at Clover Park High for the past 31 years.
A Lakes High School graduate, he received his bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Puget Sound and his master’s degree in music from Central Washington University.
At Clover Park, Dearth teaches symphonic band, four first-year steel drum classes and an advanced steel drum class.
“I have a lot of fun with my students, but I also demand a lot from them,” he said. “They work hard, and they rise to meet the challenges I present.”
Joyce Chen, The News Tribune
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