Tag Archives: STEM teachers

Texas teacher Chris McLeod named his state’s 2023 Secondary Teacher of the Year

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High school science teacher Chris McLeod has been named the 2023 Texas State Secondary Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Texas Association of School Administrators

Our students are fortunate to have the most amazing educators leading their instruction. One of these is Chris McLeod, a science teacher from Brazosport, Texas. He has been named his state’s 2023 Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Chris teaches rocket engineering to juniors and seniors at Brazoswood High School in Brazosport Independent School District. In a career that spans 12 years, he has instructed courses in physics, chemistry, engineering, and other sciences. In addition, he has led his school’s student council and teen leadership committee. And as if all that were not enough, he currently serves on a safety review board for the Spaceport America Cup, an international university rocket competition.

Chris says his classroom, a part of his district’s Career and Technical Education program, is a place of collaboration and “organized chaos,” as collaborative learning groups delve into research, design, and construction of their own rockets. During the process, students routinely meet with local industrial and manufacturing businesses while they build their rockets. His students often consult with university rocket-building teams, and they have consistently earned praise on the research and design of their fully-functioning, high-power hybrid rockets.

“One of the highlights of my year is taking students to NASA for design reviews,” Chris confesses. “Students have spent months coding computer models to predict the dynamic behavior of a rocket. However, they still have a hurdle to cross before building anything—a full-fledged review with an engineering panel at the Johnson Space Center. In this moment, those students must prove their work to the professionals. No classroom, no lecture, no teacher help—it is student and engineer, discussing, planning, and proving their system with people currently working to send astronauts back to the moon. How cool is that?” he continues.

But Chris insists that the students’ projects have value beyond the awards. “This really isn’t about the rocket,” he asserts.”Yes, we want to set records. Yes, we want to get really good at engineering skills,” he says. “But the real focus here is that we build collaborators, problem-solvers, and world builders,” he concludes.

This honored educator earned his Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from Texas A&M University. To read more about Chris McLeod, see this article published by The Facts.

STEM teacher Utah’s Jennifer Carver-Hunter advances space exploration education

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STEM teacher Jennifer Carver-Hunter from Salt Lake City, Utah, garnered a coveted PAEMST award for her innovative work in space exploration education. Photo Credit: Mountain View elementary School

It is always a pleasure to share stories about exceptional educations. One of these is Jennifer Carver-Hunter, an elementary school teacher from Salt Lake City, Utah. For her work in space exploration education, she has earned a coveted PAEMST award.

Jennifer teaches fifth grade Science and Language Arts at Mountain View Elementary School in Salt Lake City. In a career that spans 22 years, she’s been at Mountain View for 11 of those years. Prior to her work in Utah, Jennifer taught oral and written language comprehension and communication skills to multi-language learners at Johnson and Northside Elementary Schools in Montrose, Colorado.

Jennifer earned her PAEMST for. her work in space exploration STEN education. She believes in leading her students by example, and she works hard to share the message that learning is a lifelong endeavor. She is passionate about inspiring her students to feed their curiosity by wondering and asking questions, because these practices are critical in developing problem-solving and collaboration skills.

Jennifer herself is a lifelong learner. She  is a member of the Teacher Innovator Institute sponsored by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and she is the master teacher and crew commander for the Spaceward Bound Utah program with the Mars Desert Research Station. Through these two programs, Jennifer promotes student interest in scientific exploration beyond Earth. Her young students spend their fifth grade year immersed in various simulations of life on Mars. Through student-designed investigations and hands-on engineering design projects, Jennifer’s students not only stay engaged in the content, but they also start to view themselves as the future scientists who might help send astronauts to Mars.

For this innovative work, in 2022, Jennifer was named one of five finalists for Utah State Teacher of the Year. She also earned a coveted PAEMST (Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching) in 2020. You can read more about this at PAEMST.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Bryn Mawr College and her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Adams State College. She is certified in Building Excellence in Elementary STEM from the University of Utah and an endorsement in Linguistically Diverse Education from Fort Lewis College.

GA teacher Natasha Berry recognized as outstanding educator

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Elementary school teacher Natasha Berry has been recognized for her outstanding work in the classroom. Photo Credit: Valdosta Daily Times

It is always a pleasure to share the story of an outstanding teacher working in public schools. One of these is Natasha Berry, an exceptional STEM teacher from the state of Georgia.

Natasha inaugurated her career as a professional educator in 2003 after earning her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Valdosta State University. She also earned certification in Gifted and Talented Education. She currently works as a STEM Lab teacher for Henry County Schools in Henry County, Georgia. Prior to that, she taught third graders at Sallas Mahone Elementary School in the Valdosta City School District, and before that, she taught in the Lowndes County system for 14 years. In all, her career as an educator spans 20 years.

The daughter of a military veteran, Natasha was forced to relocate several times as a child, but she spent most of her life in Valdosta. Despite her moves, Natasha had strong support for education in her childhood home. “I come from a family of educators. My mother and many of my aunts and uncles are in the education profession,” she reveals. “I grew up watching and admiring the countless hours my mom spent using her creative talent to make learning exciting and engaging for the students inside her classroom every single day.”

For her work in the classroom, Natasha garnered a 2023 Gale Samuels Award from the Georgia Teachers of the Year Association.  The honor is bestowed in memory of Gale Samuels, a beloved educator at the Georgia Department of Education who contracted leukemia and passed away in 1998. Samuels was considered instrumental in promoting excellence in teaching in her state.

The Gale Samuels Award is not the only recognition Natasha has earned. In 2022, she was named a finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year. In 2019, she was honored as the Sallas Mahone Teacher of the Year, and that same year this Chalkboard Champion was named the Valdosta City Schools Co-Teacher of the Year.

Iowa teacher Heather Anderson recognized as frontrunner in STEM education

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Elementary school teacher Heather Anderson has a reputation as a frontrunner in STEM education. Photo Credit: Iowa STEM Advisory Council. 

Here is one educator who has earned a name for herself as a frontrunner in STEM education: Heather Anderson, an elementary school teacher from Waukee, Iowa.

Heather teaches second grade at Grant Eagan Elementary in Waukee, where she has worked since 2014. In her classroom, Heather has created a Makerspace area, and in this space she encourages students to bring parts or materials to class to examine how things are made. She has also organized a bristle-bot honeybee construction unit, which has become a favorite learning activity among her students.

For her efforts to further STEM education, Heather has received a whopping total of 28 different STEM-related grants. She has also garnered no less than four awards through the STEM Scale-Up Program. She was selected the first elementary teacher to participate in the Iowa STEM Teacher Externships Program in 2017. In addition, she has participated in the National Summer Institute in Japan and the NEAF Global Learning Fellowship in Peru. And, as if all this were not enough, she sits on the Des Moines Public School Board.

For her work in STEM education, Heather has earned many accolades. She was the recipient of the 2015 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence on a national level. That same year, she was named the recipient of a California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2014, she earned an Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Iowa Urban Tree Council. In 2013, she was awarded an

Heather earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Upper Iowa University in 1997. She was also certified by the Iowa Montessori Training Center in 2006.

Nice going, Heather!

Hawaii’s Michael Ida named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year

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Secondary math teacher Michael Ida of Honolulu, Hawaii, has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Hawaii News Now

There are many excellent educators throughout our country who are deserving of recognition. One of them is Michael Ida from Hawaii, a secondary math teacher who has been named his state’s 2023 Teacher of the Year.

In a career that has spanned 26 years, Michael has taught all of them at  Kalani High School in Honolulu, where he conducts courses in mathematics and computer science. He also serves as the Chairperson for the Mathematics Department, as an Academic Review Team member, and as a club advisor. He spearheaded the development of the computer science program at Kalani High. And as if all the were not enough, he also leads technology-related professional development sessions for his school faculty.

Michael has a reputation for being a lifelong learner and for being dedicated to the service of others. “He goes above and beyond for not only his students, but for any staff member that needs help,” asserts Kalani High Principal Mitch Otani. “During the pandemic, he was the one that was helping people with all the technology and everything else. He’s one that is always there to help and support anyone,” Otani continues.

In addition to his work with students, Michael serves on the leadership teams of the Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Hawaii chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association, and the Hawaii National Board Certified Teachers Collective. He also serves as an accreditation visiting team member for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and as an exam reader for Advanced Placement Calculus.

Michael earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 1991. He earned his Master’s degree and a PhD in applied mathematics from Northwestern University in 1995. He also earned a Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Boston College in 1996. Additionally, he was recognized as a National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescent/Young Adult Mathematics in 2004.

To read more about Michael Ida, click on this link to a story about him published by the Hawaii State Department of Education.