San Leandro High Instructor Vies for All Star Teacher of the Year

Victor Doan is well known at for being dedicated to his students. Now that commitment could earn him recognition as teacher of the year in a Bay Area-wide competition. 

After one of his former students nominated him in February, Doan was chosen Monday as one of five finalists for the All Star Teacher of the Year award, sponsored by Comcast SportsNet. The competition looks at four criteria: overall commitment, excellence in teaching, rapport with students, and level of distinction.

The public will choose the winner by voting online. 

Doan, who teaches Advanced Placement and Honors Biology, has already scored tickets to a San Francisco Giants game for being a finalist in the contest.

If he wins the grand prize, SportsNet will award San Leandro High a grant of $20,000—the biggest prize in the contest's five-year history.

Hilary Vance, a 2010 San Leandro High graduate, nominated Doan for the competition. She had Doan as a teacher her freshman and senior years. Doan also wrote Vance's recommendation for Stanford University, which she now attends.

Vance said by e-mail that she nominated Doan "not only because he's an amazing teacher and person, but because his class was, hands-down, the best learning experience I've had."

She said Doan is a supportive and energetic teacher who challenges students to stretch themselves both academically and personally.

"I used to be utterly terrified of answering a question wrong, and I still remember the day he called on me for every question for 15 minutes until I toughened up and learned to get over it," Vance said.

Doan has been teaching at San Leandro High since 2003, but his responsibilities go far beyond the classroom.

He serves as chair of the science department, the committee for the San Leandro Teachers' Association Scholarship and faculty adviser for Interact, a popular community service club. He also began co-coaching the girls' cross-country team this year.

And those are just the standard activities. Doan also holds tutorials after school, organizes Ultimate Frisbee games on weekends, and is always up for playing guitar, whether during lunch breaks or at talent shows.

He even created a band with two students; they call themselves Midnight Landfair, named for the street Doan lived on while a student at UCLA, where he and friends would stay up late playing music. 

Doan said his relationship with students is based on mutual respect. "I truly like and care about the kids," he said. "I care about what they're doing."

He said he loves to inspire students to work harder. "It's very gratifying, very satisfying for me," Doan said.

Doan attended public schools in San Leandro as a teenager. He spent his last year of junior high at and graduated from San Leandro High in 1997, where he was active on the wrestling team.

Later, while attending Chabot College, he helped coach the Pirates wrestling team. He has also coached middle school wrestling.

In addition, Doan worked for the City of San Leandro for a decade, as a building attendant at the and a coach for youth sports camps.

After his work for the city, Doan went on to UCLA to earn his bachelor's degree and a teaching credential. He taught for one year at a middle school in south-central Los Angeles, but missed home.

"I knew I wanted to come back to the Bay," he said.

Doan's wife, Rochelle Lokting, also teaches at San Leandro High. They were married last year and are expecting their first child, a boy, this summer.

Doan said the pair want to keep teaching at San Leandro High "indefinitely."

"We love it here," Doan said. "I feel very much a part of this community."

The teaching contest is now in the hands of the general public. Whichever finalist garners the most votes will be crowned All Star Teacher live at a Giants game on June 12.

Doan will also be interviewed live on SportsNet next Friday, April 29, during the A's vs. Rangers game at the Oakland Coliseum, sometime between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

You can view a video of interviews with Doan, San Leandro High Principal Linda Granger and former and current students on Comcast SportsNet's website.

There you can also register for an account to vote for Doan. Voting opened Monday, April 18, and closes at the end of the day on June 5.