Tag Archives: STEM teachers

CA Career Tech Ed teacher Lamar Hanger earns Construction Education Award

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Career Technical Education teacher Lamar Hanger has earned a Construction Education Friend Award from the Associated General Contractors of California. Photo Credit: Fontana Herald News

I am always eager to share news about an exceptional educator who has earned recognition for their work with young people. One of these is Lamar Hanger, a teacher from Fontana, California. He has earned a Construction Education Friend Award from the Associated General Contractors of California.

Lamar teaches courses in the Building and Construction Pathway at Fontana High School in Fontana. The program is part of the school’s Career Technical Education Department. He has worked at the school since 2021.

In the past three years, this amazing educator has nearly tripled the number of students enrolled in the General Construction program. The program provides students with a practical, real-world STEM education, supported by a curriculum approved by both the state and the district. This curriculum features projects and hands-on learning.

When Lamar started at the school, his first project was to remodel the old wood shop classroom into an updated training lab. To accomplish this, he sought donations of tools and materials from local contracting companies with which to equip the lab, and he enlisted the aid of students to help with the construction tasks.

In April, 2022, Lamar led a group of his students to the Construction Industry Education Foundation’s Design Build competition. The students, who had received only five months of instruction, placed second in the competition and garnered Rookie of the Year honors.

Before becoming a public school teacher, Lamar worked 32 years as a union carpenter. He has demonstrated considerable expertise in construction, welding, metal-stud framing, and lath. In fact, he has completed freeform lathing projects on several attractions at Disneyland theme park. Lamar also worked as an instructor for the Southwest Carpenters Training Fund, a program that trains apprentices for eight years before they serve as a special representative for Southwest Carpenters.

To read more about Lamar Hanger, click on this link to an article about him published by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

FL STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long inducted into the 2023 National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Congratulations to STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long of Florida. She has been inducted into the 2023 National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: National Teacher Hall of Fame

Hearty congratulations are due to STEM educator Dr. Caryn Long of Clermont, Florida. She has been inducted into the 2023 Class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

Caryn serves as a Specialist in Educational Technology Innovation and STEM integration at Montverde Academy in Clermont, Florida. Previously, she taught STEM subjects in public elementary schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and STEM for all grade levels at NASA. Her career as an educator spans 34 years.

The honored educator says in her classroom she strives to achieve two goals: Students should love learning more than they did in previous years, and they should improve their overall attitude about learning. “I’ve often described my classroom as controlled chaos,” declares Caryn. “We dance to music allowing the kids ways to transfer complex science knowledge into long-term memory. They lean over tables and answer various levels of questions that scaffold on previous understanding,” she continues. “Providing diverse role models in the science fields is a crucial part of my kids’ education. Throughout the year, they speak to experts from NASA, NOAA, Boeing, and other agencies/businesses that can bring real world connections to the concepts they are developing,” she describes.

Caryn’s selection by the NTHF is not the only recognition she has earned. In 2021, she was named Montverde Academy Middle School Teacher of the Year. In 2019, she became a Space Educator Ambassador for the National Space Foundation, and the same year she was selected Florida’s Air Force Association STEM Teacher of the Year. In 2002, Caryn was honored as the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator, and in 2001, she was named the Distinguished Teacher of the Year by the NSTA. In 2000, she was named a Eleanor Roosevelt Teacher Fellow.

Caryn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Queens University of Charlotte in 1988. She earned her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina in 1990. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Educational/Instructional Technology from Oklahoma State University in 2015.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame was founded in Emporia, Kansas, in 1989. Since the inaugural induction ceremonies in 1992, 150 educators from 41 states and the District of Columbia have been inducted. To learn more, click on this link to the NTHF.

Alaska names Catherine Walker as the 2024 State Teacher of the Year

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Science teacher Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska, has been named her state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo credit: Anchorage School District

Our nation’s students are fortunate to have such dedicated and capable teachers in the classroom. One of these is high school science and career technology educator Catherine Walker of Anchorage, Alaska. She has been named the 2024 Teacher of the Year for her state.

Catherine teaches oceanography, marine biology, unmanned aviation science, and Project Lead the Way engineering essentials to students in grades nine through 12 at Dimond High School in Anchorage. She has taught there since 2006. In addition to instructing her courses, she also sponsors the Battle of the Books, the Gender Sexuality Alliance, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Guardian, and the National Ocean Science Bowl clubs. And as if all that were not enough, she also teaches courses for educators new to science at Prince William Sound College.

Alaska is not the only place where Catherine put her knowledge of the environment into practice. She also served in the Peace Corps in Mali from 2002-2004 as a Natural Resource Management Volunteer.

Catherine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. In addition, she completed the Semester in Environmental Science at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 2019, she earned her National Geographic Educator Certification and attended the National Geographic Education Summit in Washington, DC. Furthermore, she is a 2023 Earthwatch Project Kindle Fellow and a 2023 Lindblad National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. 

Her selection as Alaska’s Teacher of the Year is not the only recognition Catherine has received. In 2023, she was honored with the Alaska Marine Science Outreach Award, the National Science Teaching Association’s Shell Science Teaching Award, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association Teacher Grant. In 2015, she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). She has also won the Eleanor B. Schick Award for Environmental Excellence from Brandeis University. Furthermore, she is a member of the Pacific Ocean Educators Network and a board member for the Alaska Society for Technology in Education. 

NC educator Michelle Pierce teaches computer science courses

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Middle school teacher Michelle Pierce of Charlotte, North Carolina, helps her students gain skills needed for success in the 21st century. Photo credit: Computer Science Teachers Association

Our nation’s students are fortunate to have excellent educator who help them develop skills needed to be successful in the 21st century. One of these is Michelle Pierce, a middle school computer science teacher from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Michelle teaches at Mallard Creek STEM (Science, Engineering, Engineering, ad Mathematics) Academy in Charlotte, where she was recently selected as their 2022-2023 Middle School Teacher of the Year. She also teaches Digital Citizenship lessons to every K-8 student in the school. And she leads an after school Girls Who Code Club to help close the gender gap in technology. As if all that were not enough, she also serves as a Team Lead and Teacher Mentor.

Michelle is passionate about using her voice to advocate for diversity and equity in Computer Science. In the classroom, she works to present Computer Science in relatable, yet fun ways while at the same time using course materials that help diversity students see themselves represented. In April, 2023, Michelle hosted a school-wide Hackathon event where over 100 families participated in hands-on activities to learn more about different areas of the computer science field.

In 2021, Michelle was one of ten educators recognized as an Amazon Future Engineer Teacher of the Year for her work in helping students in underserved and under-represented communities explore possibilities of studying computer science. As a result of that recognition, she was selected to represent the Amazon Future Engineer program at the 2022 CSTA National Conference.

Michelle earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from North Carolina Central University in 2005. In addition, shas completed the requirements to be certified as a Common Sense Educator and Google Certified Educator, Level 2. She is an active member of the North Carolina CSTA chapter, CSTA Black Affinity Group, and ISTE. She is also a founding member of the Charlotte Women in Tech for Good.

Connecticut teacher Kristen Record inducted into the NTHF

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Dr. Kristen Record of Stratford, Connecticut, has been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Kristen Record

Hearty congratulations are due to educator Dr. Kristen Record of Stratford, Connecticut. She has been inducted into the 2023 Class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF).

The honored educator teaches Honors Physics to juniors and seniors at Bunnell High School in Stratford. She also serves as the Senior Class Advisor. She also participates on her District’s Teacher Education and Mentoring Team. Further, she is active ion her local teachers’ union, service as the Secondary Vice President and the Chairperson of the Contract Negotiations team. Her career as an educator spans 23 years, all of them in Stratford Public Schools.

She was just a little girl when Kristen’s passion for teaching started. “When she was four years old, she would line up her stuffed animals like they were in a classroom, and she would teach them,” recalls Daniel Record, Kristen’s father, who was also a physics teacher. Her mother, Carolyn, and her brother and sister-in-law are also teachers.

Kristen’s advice for a beginning teacher? “Observe. Visit as many classrooms as possible. Observe what to emulate and what to avoid,” Kristen advises. “Great students at the door. Observe the energy they bring, and learn what’s going on beyond academics,” Kristen continues. And one more thing: take time to recreate, she advises. “Vacations are vacations. Observe them as such so you can recharge and be your best self at school,” she concludes.

Her induction into the NTHF is not the only recognition Kristen has earned. In 2022 she was involved in the 100K in 10 Teacher Forum. The Nation Education Association Foundation honored her with their California Casualty Award for Teacher Excellence in 2020. She earned a Global Learning Fellowship in 2015, and she became a Fellow of the National STEM Policy Institution at MIT/George Washington University. In 2011, she was named Connecticut’s State teacher of the Year. In 2009, she garnered a Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

Kristen earned her Bachelor’s degree in Science Instruction and Study from Southern Connecticut State University in 2006. She earned her Master’s degree in Teaching and Learning from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2000.

To learn more about Dr. Kristen Record, click on this link to the NTHF.