Fifth grade STEM educator Courtney Greene of Idaho, shown here assisting a student in directed inquiry, has garnered a prestigious 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Photo Credit: Coeur d’Alene Post Falls Press.

It is always my pleasure to share stories about exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Courtney Green, an elementary STEM teacher from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She has garnered a prestigious 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Courtney currently teaches fifth grade at Fernan STEM Academy. Previously she taught at Bryan Elementary, Hayden Meadows Elementary, Sorensen Elementary, and Bovill Elementary. Her career as an educator spans 21 years.

Courtney’s passion for inquiry has led to partnerships with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the University of Idaho to create authentic, place-based learning experiences for her students. Her class’s latest inquiry unit was a case study of a local creek system, which had students as collaborators with the community conservation water management team led by tribal scientists.

Courtney says she is especially interested in the environment, and the local ecosystem is her passion. She says she wants students to ask their own questions and wonder about the world so they will take ownership of their own learning. “Kids are natural scientists because they do ask all those questions,” asserts Courtney.”“So almost everything we start with is framed around questions.” Then she takes the standards and turns them into questions that students can ask more questions about.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Courtney has conducted presentations about inquiry-based learning pedagogy at the Northwest Council for Computer Education, the Idaho Education Technology Association, and the Idaho STEM Action Center’s ISTEM conference. She also leads professional development workshops to support teachers in creating science storyline units. Furthermore, she is an active member of the Idaho Science Teachers Association.

Courtney earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Idaho.

To learn more about Courtney Greene, see this article about her published by the Coeur d’Alene Post Falls Press.

Elementary school science teacher Bridget Zahradnik of Novi, Michigan, has garnered a prestigious 2022 PAEMST Award. Photo Credit: PAEMST

It is always my pleasure to share stories about exceptional educators who have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Bridget Zahradnik, an elementary school science teacher from Michigan who has garnered a 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Bridget has been a professional educator for 24 years. Currently she teaches fifth grade math and science at Novi Meadows Elementary in Novi, Michigan. Previously, she taught first and third grades for 19 years at Parkview Elementary School. Prior to that, she taught Spanish for a year at Village Oaks and Orchard Hills Elementary Schools in Detroit, and first grade at both J.S. Slocum Elementary School in Pineville, Louisiana, and McKinley Elementary School in Corona, California.

The honored educator has worked diligently to improve science instruction in her school district, declares Steve Mathews, Superintendent of Novi Community Schools. “Bridget Zahradnik has been instrumental in updating our science curriculum and a strong advocate for engaging science instruction,” he says. “She has helped move our district science curriculum forward and improved science instruction, especially at the elementary level,” he continues. Matthews notes that Bridget was instrumental in transforming the traditional science fair to an “invention convention.” This event requires students to develop creative solutions to a problem each on has selected. In some cases, the students’ solutions have resulted in patents, including one for a healthy lollipop and another for a LEGO sorter. In addition, Bridget launched a fundraising drive to pay for outdoor learning spaces in Novi. Because of her efforts, her district received a $400,000 grant to fund the project.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Bridget serves as her District’s Science Content Area leader, designs and delivers professional development, and works as an educational consultant. She has also published numerous articles about science instruction, makerspaces, project-based learning, and subject matter integration.

Bridget earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 1996 and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2002, both from Michigan State University.

The PAEMST program, founded in 1983, is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honor comes with a $10,000 cash prize.

Michele “Mickie” Flores, a middle school STEM teacher from Maine, has earned a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Photo Credit: PAEMST

Many fine STEM educators have earned recognition for their work in the teaching profession. One of these is Michele Flores of Maine, who has garnered a prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Michele, who prefers to be called “Mickie,” has been a science educator since 1985. She has taught at all levels, including elementary, middle school, and high school. For the past 11 years, she has taught fifth graders through seventh graders at Deer-Isle Stonington Elementary School located in Deer Isle, Maine. Prior to that assignment, she taught chemistry at H.C. Williams High School for six years, middle level science at JM McKenney Middle School for 15 years, and five years at Immaculate Conception School. She also taught courses in science methods at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

As a teacher, Mickie has a reputation for creating a very innovative and collaborative curriculum. For example, during the 2020-2021 school year, her fifth and sixth graders monitored how birds used the bird feeder located on the school’s nature trail. They estimated cloud cover, recorded bird activity, graphed their data, and published their conclusions online. That same year, Mickie’s sixth and seventh grade students studied climate change in collaboration with students in both San Diego, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Together, they created an 80-page comic book on the subject. The students even interviewed local scientists as well as a comic book illustrator and produced graphic nonfiction comics from their interviews. The honored teacher explained that theiir goal was to have a voice in educating the public about the causes, effects, and solutions to the current climate crisis.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Mickie serves on the Teacher Advisory Group for the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. She also serves on the Hancock County Teaching Collaborative of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. As a result of the work done by the Collaborative, the Institute garnered a grant from Rethinking Remote Education Ventures to create an accessible boardwalk and outdoor classroom for Deer Isle School’s nature trail.

Mickie earned her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Services in 1975 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She earned her Master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching in 1980 from Elmira College in Elmira, New York.