A Bay High School teacher is being recognized by one of the nation’s most prestigious universities for the impact he has made on his students, but for Sean O’Donnell, making an impact at Bay High goes well beyond the math and science he teaches.
O’Donnell has been named a recipient of the 2026 Yale Educator Award, an honor presented by the Yale University Office of Undergraduate Admissions to outstanding educators who inspire and support students as they pursue excellence.
Making the recognition even more meaningful, O’Donnell was nominated by Silas Dyer, a 2026 Bay High graduate who was accepted to numerous Ivy League universities before ultimately choosing Yale.
Dyer spent plenty of time in O’Donnell’s classroom during his years at Bay High. O’Donnell taught him through an impressive progression of advanced coursework, including Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, Calculus A/B, AICE Mathematics, Calculus B/C, and Physics Mechanics.
“This award was such an honor; it was totally unexpected and a very welcomed surprise,” O’Donnell said.
Yale invites incoming students to nominate a high school teacher or counselor who had a significant impact on their education. This year, the university received 307 nominations representing educators from 39 states and 20 countries. After reviewing each nomination individually, a committee of Yale admissions officers selected just 50 teachers and 17 counselors to receive the 2026 award. O'Donnell was one of them.
For O’Donnell, the recognition comes at a school that has been part of his own story for nearly two decades.
A 2007 Bay High graduate, O’Donnell eventually returned to his alma mater as a teacher. Now in his 15th year in education and 11th year teaching at Bay High, he teaches courses ranging from Intermediate and College Algebra to Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Statistics, Calculus, and Physics.
But his students also know there is much more to “Mr. O’Donnell” than equations and derivatives.
He sponsors Bay High’s Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society, assists with Student Government Association activities, and has become known around campus for an annual tradition that is hard to miss: dying his beard.
The tradition began in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.
“I started it the year of Hurricane Michael just to make people smile,” O’Donnell said.
Each year, students donate money to various causes and, in return, earn the opportunity to vote on what color O’Donnell will dye his beard. Over the years, that has meant everything from neon colors to a multicolored beard...and plenty of smiles throughout Bay High.
What started as a fundraiser that brought in about $700 its first year has grown into an annual effort that now averages approximately $2,000 each year. The money has supported a variety of goodwill efforts around Bay High, including mathematics scholarships through the Donna South Foundation, named in honor of a former Bay High math teacher who once taught O’Donnell himself as well as helping deserving seniors participate in senior trips and other causes benefiting students.
“It makes people smile and happy, and it’s something I look forward to every year,” O’Donnell said.
That willingness to invest in students, whether through advanced mathematics, student organizations, a scholarship or a brightly colored beard, is exactly the kind of impact the Yale Educator Award was created to recognize.
The Yale Admissions Office credits educators like O’Donnell with helping shape students long before they arrive on a college campus, motivating them to perform at high levels and pursue ambitious goals.
And there is something particularly fitting about this recognition: a Bay High graduate returned to his alma mater to teach, helped another Bay High graduate reach one of the world’s most prestigious universities, and that student made sure his teacher received a little recognition along the way.
Congratulations to Sean O’Donnell on this well-deserved honor and for continuing to make a difference for the students of Bay High School.
