Tag Archives: Science Teachers

Former New Mexico teacher and politician Retta Ward

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Former high school biology teacher Retta Ward of New Mexico also served her state as a capable politician. Photo credit: Washington Times.

Many fine classroom teachers also earn success in political positions. Former high school teacher Retta Ward of New Mexico was one of these. After she left the classroom, she served as the State Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Health.

Retta was born on May 4, 1953, in New Mexico. As a young girl, Retta grew up in the southeastern New Mexico town of Hagerman. As a high school student, Retta served her school as the editor of the yearbook, and she also claimed Homecoming Queen honors. When she graduated, she was named as the school’s valedictorian.

Retta earned her Bachelor’s degree in Health Education from the University of New Mexico, and her Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Arizona.

After earning her degrees, Retta inaugurated her career as a teacher when she accepted a position as a high school biology teacher in Cave Creek, Arizona. Later she served in middle schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In all, her career in education spanned ten years.

Retta was appointed to the position of State Secretary of New Mexico Department of Health in 2013 by Governor Susana Martinez. Retta served in the position until her passing in 2016. Previously, she served as Secretary of the state’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department. Before that, she managed the arthritis program for the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Sadly, Retta suffered a medical emergency while driving alone near Santa Fe, New Mexico. When her car was found, emergency personnel discovered that she had succumbed to a condition that was not an automobile accident. This was on March 3, 2016. Later it was determined that Retta had suffered an aortic dissection. She was 62 years old.

To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, click on this link to an article published in the Albuquerque Journal.

Patricia Eshelman named New York’s 2021 Agriculture Teacher of the Year

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Science educator Patricia Eshelman of Bolivar, New York, has been named the 2021 NYAITC Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: New York Agriculture in the Classroom.

Congratulations go to New York teacher Patricia Eshelman, who was recently honored by the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization and the National Food Institute of Food and Agriculture, which is part of the US Department of Agriculture. Patricia has been named the 2021 New York Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. She earned this honor for her unique lessons in the classroom that get students outside of a normal classroom setting.

Patricia teaches biology and a course entitled Sustainable Living and Agriculture at Bolivar Richburg High School in Bolivar, New York. The course covers a broad range of agricultural topics from botany to ethics, and allows students valuable hands-on learning experiences and community-engagement.

Patricia has created lessons she calls “Farmer Fridays,” where she invites guest speakers to talk to her classes. In addition, the innovative educator directs her students in building, planting, and maintaining a garden as part of her school’s Wolverine Environmental Education Center (WEE). In their garden, the students have planted garlic, asparagus, blueberries, black raspberries, fruit trees, perennial flowers, and tomatoes. The food the students grow is given away or sold to the community, to teachers on campus, or to the school cafeteria. In addition to the garden, the students conduct studies about food waste which led them to explore composting and vermicomposting food from the school cafeteria.

Patricia was one of eight teachers across the country who was honored with a 2021 National Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award. The group was honored at the 2021 National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference “Fields of Dreams” in Des Moines, Iowa, last summer.

To read more about Patricia Eshelman, see this article published about her by the Daily Reporter.

Retired teacher Elsa Salazar Cade of Texas has garnered many awards

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Retired elementary school teacher Elsa Salazar Cade of Texas has garnered many awards for her professional and volunteer work. Photo credit: Washington University in St. Louis.

Many fine teachers have earned recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Elsa Salazar Cade, a Mexican American educator and entomologist from Texas. She has garnered numerous awards for her work and for her philanthropic efforts.
Elsa was born in 1952 and raised in Texas. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Science Education from the University of Texas, Austin, she was employed for two years as a fourth grade teacher, and then for two years as a reading and remedial math teacher. When she completed her Master’s degree in Public School Administration from Niagara University, she continued her career as a junior high school science educator in the public school system in Buffalo, New York.
Elsa, who has been named one of the ten best science teachers in the United States by the National Science Teachers Association, is credited for developing an award-winning interactive science curriculum. She has also served on the staff of the Buffalo Research Institute on Teaching for Education.
As strong supporters of education and youth, the Cades established the Bill and Elsa Salazar Cade Scholarship in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Lethbridge, the endowment of which has reached nearly $130,000. They have both contributed to countless student fundraisers and have volunteered their time with many local organizations, including the Lethbridge Youth Foundation, Alberta Science Foundation, and the Lethbridge United Way. In recognition of her long-standing service to the community, Elsa garnered the Senate Volunteer Award from  University of Lethbridge in 2010.
In addition, Elsa previously served on the Board of Science Alberta, a nonprofit committed to science education and awareness. For many years, she was also a member of the Fifth on Fifth Youth Foundation. As if all her work in the field of education were not enough, Elsa and her husband, Dr. Bill Cade, were also honored for their humanitarian efforts, raising money to provide shelter and life-saving equipment to benefit Haitian disaster survivors. The couple also earned a Generosity of Spirit Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Calgary at a National Philanthropy Day in November, 2010.
Elsa Salazar Cade and her husband are retired and live in Texas.

 

Paul Timm named Nebraska’s Teacher of the Year

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Congratulations to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska, who has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: AgUpdate.

Congratulations go out to Paul Timm, a science educator from Lyons, Nebraska. Paul has been named his state’s 2021 Teacher of the Year.

Paul currently works at Lyons-Decatur Northeast Secondary School in Lyons. The school is located about 70 miles northwest of Omaha. There he teaches biology, agriculture education, and health science for grades 7 through 12. Throughout his 17-year career, he has taught 18 different courses, including AP Biology, a science research course, Earth and space science, and welding and agricultural mechanics. In addition, Paul has taught a leadership class, sponsored his school’s Quiz Bowl, advised the National Honor Society on his campus. As if all this were not enough, Paul has also coached cross county and track and field. His cross country teams have earned four conference championships and five state qualifications.

Paul says he views learning as an entrepreneurial venture. Students are not just employees at the job, he believes, but business owners building an enterprise of learning with passion, personal choice, and full ownership. “I begin by fostering a culture which promotes curiosity and questions, sharing of ideas, celebrating successes, and willingness to learn from failures,” explains Paul. “Project- and inquiry-based learning drives education to the highest levels while extending the learning environment beyond the classroom and providing student choice,” he declares. Using this philosophy, Paul strives to prepare his students for life outside school.

Paul earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Education and his Master’s degree in Entomology, both from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He is also a National Geographic Certified Educator, a 2020 Advocate for the Society for Science and the Public, and a 2017 Nebraska Finalist for the Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching.

To read more about Paul Timm, click on this link to the University of Nebraska.

Covid-19 claims life of South Carolina teacher Jackqueline Lowery

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Sadly, we report that middle school science teacher Jackqueline Lowery of Darlington, South Carolina, succumbed to Covid-19 on Sept. 18, 2021. Photo credit: Mitchell-Josey Funeral Home.

With great sadness we report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Jacqueline Lowery, a middle school teacher from Darlington, South Carolina, succumbed to the disease on Sept. 18, 2021. She was just 28 years old.

The fallen educator was a graduate of Mayo High School for Math, Science, and Technology, where she graduated in 2011. While a student there, Jackqueline was a member of the Beta Club and the National Honor’s Society. In addition, she graduated Magna Cum Laude and was awarded the prestigious Heart of The Phoenix Award.

After her high school graduation, Jackqueline continued her studies at Francis Marion University. While there, she participated in several organizations. She was elected Vice President of the Student Government Association, the President of the Senate, the Vice President of the National Pan Hellenic Council, the Treasurer of The Award Winning Francis Marion YGB Gospel Choir, and the Chaplain and Treasurer of the Esteemed Xi Omicron Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In May 2016, Jackqueline completed the requirements for her Bachelor’s degree in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Literature. She was also working on her Master’d degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix at the time of her passing.

Once she completed her education, Jackqueline inaugurated her career as a teacher at Darlington Middle School in Darlington County School District. She taught science to seventh graders and also served her school as the Head Volleyball Coach. According to those who knew her, Jackqueline had a passion for each and every student that she encountered, and she believed that every life mattered.

Jackqueline had declined to get a vaccination because she was breast-feeding her nine-month-old son and was unsure how the vaccination would affect her child.