Tag Archives: STEM teachers

STEM teacher Todd Knight named Idaho’s 2022 Teacher of the Year

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Middle school STEM teacher Todd Knight of Meridian, Idaho, has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Todd Knight

It is always my pleasure to share the story of a teacher who has earned honors for their stellar work in the classroom. One of these is Todd Knight, a middle school STEM teacher from Meridian, Idaho. He has been named his state’s 2022 Teacher of the Year.

Todd is a native of Meridian. After his graduation from Meridian High School, Todd earned his Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Boise State University in 2008. He earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in STEM Education from Concordia University in 2015.

After substitute teaching for a year and a half in Meridian’s West Ada School District, he taught fourth grade at the District’s Star Elementary and then fifth grade at River Valley Elementary School. In 2014, Todd accepted a teaching position at Crossroads Middle School. There he currently teaches physical science, engineering technology and robotics, and coding to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. For the past five years, has served as the Digital Technology Lead and Chair of the Science Department. Previously, he also served as the Math Intervention Lead and as a mentor teacher in science.

As a teacher of middle schoolers, Todd says he strives to relate the content he teaches to the everyday lives of his students. “I take a hands-on approach and try and get students to see that learning is not just sitting in a desk doing book work,” he explains. “We talk about learning permits and learning how to drive, then we start talking about how a motor works or why there are spoilers on some vehicles,” he continues. “We start looking at their life and relating it to the curriculum and the content that I’m teaching.”

Good work, Todd!

IL educator Brandy Hempen garners prestigious PAEMST honors

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Elementary school educator Dr. Brandy Hempen of Illinois has garnered prestigious 2022 PAEMST honors. Photo Credit: Illinois Association of Regional Superintendent of Schools.

I am always excited to share stories about exceptional educators who have earned accolades for their work in the classroom. One of these is Dr. Brandy Hempen, an elementary school teacher who has garnered a 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

At the time of her nomination for the PAEMST in 2020, Brandy was teaching at Germantown Elementary School in Germantown in southern Illinois. In a career that has spanned ten years, she has taught in grades three, five, seven, and eight. She also served as a curriculum coordinator and instructional coach for kindergarten through eighth grade at Germantown Elementary School District 60. In addition to her work in the classroom, Brandy has conducted conferences on a variety of educational topics specializing in teaching mathematics in the 21st century. Currently she is an instructor of educational technology and leadership at the Teachers College at Western Governors University.

Brandy’s PAEMST is not the only recognition she has earned. In 2018, she was one of 27 educators from all over the globe selected by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development to serve as an Emerging Leader in Education. Additionally, in her early years of teaching, she was selected as an Early Career Educator by the Illinois State Board of Education.

The honored educator credits her fifth grade teacher for planting the idea to become a teacher in her mind. “My fifth grade teacher played a huge role in my life. She couldn’t have kids, so she kind of took me under her wing. I distinctly remember her saying to me one day, ‘You should be a teacher,'” she recalls. While she was working on her Bachelor’s degree, Brandy says, “I was doing my demonstration teaching in a second grade classroom and I fell head over heels in love with this work! As a student teacher, I wasn’t even getting paid, yet I couldn’t wait to wake up and go to work each day. That sealed it for me. I’ve been an educator ever since,” she concluded.

Brandy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in differentiated instruction, and her PhD in Educational Technology and Leadership.

Maine’s Michele “Mickie” Flores garners prestigious PAEMST award

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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.

Elem teacher Crystal Doi of Hawaii garners prestigious 2022 PAEMST award 

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Elementary school teacher Crystal Doi of Hawaii has garnered a prestigious 2022 PAEMST award. Photo Credit: Lifechanger.com

I always enjoy sharing stories about fine educators who have earned honors for their work in the classroom. One of these is Crystal Doi, an elementary school teacher from Hawaii who has garnered a prestigious 2022 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Currently, Crystal is teaching sixth grade math and science at Kapunahala Elementary School in the Windward School District. Before that, she coordinated the science curriculum for students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Nu’uanu Elementary School in the Honolulu District. Prior to that, she taught sixth graders at Nu’uanu Elementary School in the Honolulu District, at Lili’uokalani Elementary School, and at Nimitz Elementary School. In all, her career as an educator has spanned 15 years.

Crystal has been instrumental in developing STEM instruction in her school and in her district. She was a participant in a district-wide science program called RIP-ing Through Science. While in the program, she authored a chapter in a book called “Look at Us Now!: Making Scientific Practices Matter in the Classroom… and Beyond.” She also co-authored a presentation delivered during the NSTA 2010 National Conference of Science Education.

And as if all that were not enough, Crystal was the teacher-coordinator for her school’s Gardening and Nutrition Program entitled ‘Aina in Schools. The curriculum for this program covers sustainability, nutrition, cooperation, and agriculture —traditional and modern.  She worked with outside agencies and nonprofit groups to acquire needed materials and manpower to construct planter boxes, have soil delivered to school to fill the boxes, have the students plant various types of produce, and have the students maintain and watch these plants and vegetables grow. Then the students harvested the plants and vegetables, cooked them, and consumed what was grown.

Crystal earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Chaminade University of Honolulu and her Associate of Arts from Kapi’olani Community College. She earned her license in Early Childhood Eduction from Hawaii Teachers Standards Board. She has also completed the requirements for certifications for STEM and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, both for kindergarten through sixth grade.

Well done, Crystal!

Florida STEM teacher Ryan Smith writes grants, wins awards

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Florida STEM educator Ryan Smith has written grants that have garnered over $60,000 for classroom projects and earned several prestigious awards for developing lessons that employ hands-on projects. Photo credit:

One of the most awesome educators around is Ryan Smith, a STEM teacher from Lake Worth, Florida. Ryan has earned several prestigious awards for developing lessons that employ hands-on projects to draw a direct connection between science concepts and the real world.

Ryan teaches science, math, and STEM courses to elementary students in grades two through eight. He has developed several elective courses for students in his school. These include a class in Environmental Engineering and another in Digital Design & Fabrication. In addition, Ryan co-created the Stiles-Nicholson STEM Inventors Challenge, which has been resulted in the placement of over 70 3D printers in middle and elementary schools in his area.

In 2021, Ryan garnered an Rosenthal Prize Honorable Mention from the National Museum of Mathematics. The honor was earned for his lesson, “Astronaut Explorer: A Measurement Conversion Conundrum,” which allows students to take on the role of astronauts exploring a new planet on which they must learn about the civilization’s measurement system. This activity promotes genuine thinking, decoding, and reasoning, and is designed to help students construct procedures for converting from one unit to another using ratios and unit conversions.  Ryan was awarded a $500 cash prize.

In addition to his Rosenthal Prize honors, Ryan garnered the School District of Palm Beach County Innovative Educator Award in both 2016 and 2015. In 2014, Ryan earned the Palm Beach County Science Educators (PBCSEA) Teacher of the Year Award.

Originally, Ryan planned to be a physical therapist, and for this reason he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Arizona State University in 2002. But then he changed course and decided to pursue a career in the classroom. He earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Education and Instructional Technology in 2016. He also earned a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Kaplan University in 2012.