Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson visited the classroom today of 2014 Buffalo Bills and M&T Bank Touchdown for Teachers grand prize winner Jeff Dinse at North Park Junior High School in Lockport, N.Y.

The sixth annual M&T Bank Touchdown for Teachers program honored Dinse among a group of Western New York teachers named as finalists for their outstanding service to their schools and communities. Honorees were chosen based on their amount of involvement in the school or community, degree of positive impact on the school or community and their demonstrated commitment to education.

Dinse uses creativity and over 16 years of experience at North Park to engage students in non-traditional learning, integrating videos and games into his lessons both during and outside of school hours. His “All Kinds of Kinds” viral video inspired over 70,000 YouTube hits, which he then translated to a website with a mission to share the positive message with others. In the months following the release of the anti-bullying video, student discipline referrals decreased by 60%, out-of-school suspensions were down 78%, staff attendance was up 24% and student scores in both reading and math grew by over 50% school-wide. Described as having a “fire in his belly” to provide social development and justice for his students, Dinse goes above and beyond to create a better school and community. 

“Mr. Dinse’s extraordinary teaching abilities and commitment to social development and justice for his students is truly inspirational,” said Tim McMorrow, M&T Bank Group VP for Retail Banking in Western New York. “We’re delighted to team up with the Buffalo Bills to recognize this outstanding teacher and offer a unique experience for his students at North Park Junior High School.”

“With the hundreds of nominations we received, the volume of quality educators in this community is quite impressive.” said Bruce Popko, Bills Chief Revenue Officer. “The Buffalo Bills and M&T Bank take pride in being able to honor all of our finalists and a special congratulations to Jeff Dinse, our 2014 M&T Bank Touchdown for Teachers winner.” 

The Bills and M&T Bank are proud to award Dinse with a $2,000 grant to North Park Junior High School, a Bills VIP behind-the-scenes experience, and Jackson’s in-class visit.

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