Cherry Creek teacher wins $100,000 national teaching award

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A Cherry Creek construction teacher is being honored for his work in the classroom and community as part of a national teaching prize.

Mike Degitis was surprised with a $100,000 check during class Tuesday at Cherry Creek Innovation Campus, winning the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence.

Degitis will get to keep $30,000 for himself, with the remaining $70,000 going to the school to help with future projects.

“We pour our blood, sweat and tears into this place, and we see so much value in what we’re doing here,” he said. “What this does is it recognizes a little bit of that, the work we put in here, but more importantly it opens more doors for us to have more exposure, do more fun things, and inspire these kids a little bit more.”

Degitis is known not just for teaching the fundamentals of construction and engineering but for teaching his classes in ways that help the community.

For the past five years, his students have built tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness in Denver.

This year, his class is working on a project with Habitat for Humanity to build a double-wide trailer for the unhoused.

“What the kids see here is not only the fact that I can use my hands for the betterment of my community, but I can turn a pile of sticks into someone’s nice, new, warm, safe and sheltered home,” he said.

Junior Khachik Mirimanyan said Degitis’ class is his favorite part of the day and that the honor was well-deserved.

“He never fails to make me happy,” Khachik said. “He deserves more than this. He deserves more than a million.”