STEM teacher Rae Ann Dotter receiving award from former flight Director Jay Stutz from the Challenger Learning Center of Colorado (2012)
There are many examples of dedicated veterans who become talented educators after they conclude their military service. One of these is Rae Ann Dotter, a secondary school STEM teacher from Colorado who has also served a distinguished career in the US Air Force.
Rae Ann teaches science at Cotopaxi Junior/Senior High School in Cotopaxi, Colorado. This amazing woman has twice been named the Teacher of the Year by the National Challenger Center for Space Science Education (2015, 2012).
After Rae Ann graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1985, she commanded tanker and communications missions with Desert Storm. After her tour of duty there, she earned her Master’s degree in Chemistry. During this time she was honored as Outstanding Academy Educator at the USAFA. After the attacks on 9/11, she was recalled to the tanker force, and over the next five years, she served five more tours of duty, including Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. She retired from the Air Force in 2005 after 20 years of service.
After her retirement from the Air Force, Rae Ann decided to pursue a career as an educator. “As a science teacher, I do not believe in teaching strictly from a book. Hands-on, relevant learning is the best way to make a lasting impression,” Rae Ann asserts. “I believe that my classroom has no bounds. In other words, I want students to know science is everywhere, in everything, and that they can have a role in the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. STEM lays the foundation on which we can build a better world,” she concludes.
Rae Ann’s former principal, Jackie Crabtree, cannot praise the gifted teacher enough. “Students who don’t excel in other classes are stimulated to learn from her dynamic methods that I feel come from her background as an Air Force pilot,” he asserts. “She constantly finds ways to bring science to every student. Her effervescent teaching style is contagious and makes the learning environments better for our students and teachers,” he concludes.
