Michigan City High School Japanese teacher Mike Tsugawa has been named 2016 Indiana Secondary Foreign Language Teacher of the Year.
Tsugawa received the award from the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association at its annual conference on November 5. He was chosen, based on a review of a portfolio of his work and qualifications, by a panel of educators representing all of Indiana’s foreign language teaching organizations (Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Latin, and Spanish). He was nominated for the honor by the Association of Indiana Teachers of Japanese, which also selected him as their Secondary Teacher of the Year.
Tsugawa has been a teacher at Michigan City High School since 2002. He currently teaches Japanese levels I through IV. He was instrumental in establishing a dual credit agreement with Ball State University, which allows MCHS students studying Japanese III and IV to earn college credits. He coordinates an annual program in which students from Zama Sogo High School in Japan visit Michigan City High School. He also coaches teams from Michigan City High School at the Japanese Olympiad of Indiana, many of which have won championships at the state level.
Tsugawa is active in supporting many curricular and extracurricular programs at Michigan City High School. He is the advisor of the Japanese Club, Ping Pong Club, and coaches Boys’ Tennis for the Wolves.