Fountain Valley Teacher Headed to Google Academy

A Fountain Valley High School teacher is on his way to joining an elite group of teachers certified by the Google Teacher Academy.

Google recently selected JR Ginex-Orinion, a chemistry teacher, to participate in the Google Teacher Academy in New York City on Oct. 3. The one-day program was created to train educators in the newest innovative technologies.

"There are only 700 Google Certified Teachers in the entire world," Ginex-Orinion told Patch. "I'm excited and honored to be a part of a community dedicated to leveraging technology tools and applications to educate and prepare students for an ever-changing technology-integrated future."

Danny Silva, spokesman for the Google Teacher Academy, said about 600 applications were received for the New York program and only 60 applicants were selected.

"Applicants are selected because of their ability to be innovative in the classroom," Silva explained. "Their ability to motivate students and their ability to help create positive change in their school or community."

According to Ginex-Orinion, Fountain Valley High and the Huntington Beach Union High School District recently adopted Google Applications for Education, a suite of communication tools that enables schools to streamline their workflow and use technology in their instruction.

"I'm looking forward to connecting with and learning from the best teachers, administrators and technology directors from all over the world," Ginex-Orinion said. "As a GCT, I will be training our staff and students on how to effectively use this technology to inspire, educate and lead them into the 21st century classroom."

Ginex-Orinion has been teaching at FVHS, his alma mater, since 2005. Before that, he taught at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente and Bishop Montgomery High School in Redondo Beach. Ginex-Orinion's 60-second video submitted to the Google Teacher Academy can be found here.