Adam Exnicios, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at J.B. Martin Middle School, is the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Junior High Teacher of the Year for Louisiana. He will now compete for the national title.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation’s oldest major war veterans’ organization, selects elementary, middle and high school teachers each year to patriciate in the Smart-Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher program. The program recognizes teachers that promote civic education, flag etiquette and patriotism. Founded in 1899, the VFW seeks to builds community among veterans who have served in overseas conflicts, advocates for and supports veterans and participates in community service.
Exnicios, a retired Major in the U.S. military, has been teaching at J.B. Martin for the last three years. He has also taught at Jefferson RISE Charter School and the New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy.
Known as “Mr. X” to his students, Exnicios said he is passionate about the subject he teaches, which covers United States and Louisiana history from the presidency of George Washington to the Reconstruction Era.
“My knowledge of history, politics and geography is both pretty wide and deep,” Exnicios said. “I also stress high expectations in academics and discipline. I have always ensured what I am doing is knowledge-based and I do not shy away from effective direct instruction.”
He said he connects with students who love social studies, but every year he usually gets a letter or confession from students who say they hated the class at first but came to love the class as the year went on.
“Those are the moments that stand out,” Exnicios said. “There has been a big push in social emotional learning, and I believe that the best way to accomplish these objectives have always been through the humanities and especially with history.”
Exnicios is also the assistant coach of the boys’ soccer team, the advisor to the Beta Club Engineering team, and a member of the Veteran’s Day Committee at J.B. Martin Middle School.
“My first battalion commander used to always quote Hillel the Elder: ‘If not you, who? If not now, when?’” he said. “Those words have always stayed with me whether in the military or teaching.”
Exnicios has a political science degree from LSU and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. He also completed military attaché training at the Defense Intelligence Agency. He lives in St. Rose with his wife, Misty, and three children: Alexander, Remy and Sophie.
Exnicios’ military experience took him across the globe: he was stationed in Kosovo, Germany, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, among other places. In the 10th Mountain Division, he commanded a howitzer battery, an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon and a mortar. That division supported coalition forces in Afghanistan. After being promoted to Major, he served as a Eurasian Foreign Area Officer.
“Coming out of the military, I had a ‘very particular set of skills’ in the realm of combined arms warfare, counterinsurgency, intelligence operations, and Eurasian security,” Exnicios said. “It only seemed logical that teaching middle school would be the best way to continue to do my small part in the betterment of the American Republic and the continuation of Western civilization.”
If he wins in the national competition for Junior High Teacher of the Year, Exnicios will attend the National VFW Conference in Columbus, Ohio.
“I’ve been all around the world but never Ohio,” Exnicios said. “In the past couple of years there has been a middle schooler obsession with Ohio, perhaps this phase has passed, but I could provide a first-person account to them of the state if I win.”
