Press Release 08-074
Top Science and Math Teachers Receive Presidential Award

Ninety-nine secondary school teachers come to Washington to be honored

Diane Schnellhammer works with AP Calculus students on building mathematical models. Credit and Larger Version

May 1, 2008

Excellent teaching in math and science can make a crucial difference to students' mastery of these subjects, and to decisions about future study and careers. Teachers who bring such teaching to their classrooms are being honored by President Bush as winners of the 2007 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The PAEMST is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House. Each year, state officials are asked to nominate the top science teacher and math teacher in their state. From year to year the program alternates in honoring elementary-level or secondary-level teachers.

For the 2007 awards, 99 middle school and high school math and science teachers are receiving this recognition. In the citation from the president, winners are commended "for embodying excellence in teaching, for devotion to the learning needs of the students, and for upholding the high standards that exemplify American education at its finest."

Each winner receives a $10,000 award from NSF, as well as a trip for two to Washington, D.C., for a week of celebratory events and professional development activities.

Among the activities during that week are a day with scientists and science educators at NSF; meetings with members of Congress and federal agency leadership; and a reception and dinner at the U.S. Department of State featuring guest speaker Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, a NASA Astronaut-Mission Specialist.

"We are delighted to have an opportunity to honor the teachers with these events," said NSF Director Arden L. Bement, Jr. "Excellent teachers are crucial to our children's success in science and mathematics, and they have a tremendous impact on their students' future interests and pursuits. As a nation, our future innovation and competitiveness depends upon young people who have a solid foundation in these disciplines and an interest in further study."

Established by Congress in 1983, the Presidential awards program annually identifies highly qualified mathematics and science teachers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories and the U.S. Department of Defense schools.

An alphabetical listing of the PAEMST winners and their schools appears below. For more information, visit http://www.paemst.org/.

Karl Agar, Santa Rosa High School, Santa Rosa, N.M.
Ashley Allen, Oneonta High School, Oneonta, Ala.
Matthew Anthes-Washburn, Parkway Academy of Technology and Health, West Roxbury, Mass.
Christine Arnold, Sigonella Middle and High School (Department of Defense school), Sicily, Italy

Cynthia Beale, West Valley High School, Fairbanks, Alaska
Michelle Bertsch, Fargo North High School, Fargo, N.D.
Susan Bigge, Booker T. Washington High School, Tulsa, Okla.
Linda Bollman, Bridgetown Middle School, Cincinnati, Ohio
Michael Bowman, Madison High School, Marshall, N.C.
Louis Broad, Timberlane Regional High School, Plaiston, N.H.
Ann Brokaw, Rocky River High School, Rocky River, Ohio
Susan Buckley, Randy Smith Middle School, Fairbanks, Alaska
Teresa Bulanda, Lewis Fox Middle School, Hartford, Conn.

Catherine Cabral, Somerset High School, Somerset, Mass.
Lai Cao, Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Baton Rouge, La.
Larry Cook, Bismarck High School, Bismarck, N.D.
Jennifer Coughlin, Eldorado High School, Albuquerque, N.M.
Nancy Cross, Merritt Island High School, Merritt Island, Fla.

Rebecca Darby, Central High School, Florence, Ala.
Carol DeFreese, DuBray Middle School, St. Peters, Mo.
Margaret Dever, Marlboro High School, Marlboro, N.J.

Barbara Fortier, Biddeford Middle School, Biddeford, Maine

Karen Galley, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Princeton Junction, N.J.
Jeanine Gelhaus, Medford Middle School, Medford, Wis.
Mary Glodowski, Juanita High School, Kirkland, Wash.
Donna Governor, Liberty Middle School, Cumming, Ga.
Timothy Graham, T. Roosevelt High School, Wyandotte, Mich.
Linn Griffiths, C. Milton Wright High School, Bel Air, Md.

Keleigh Hague-Bechard, Capital High School, Boise, Idaho
Darcy Hampton, Alice Deal Junior High School, Washington, D.C.
Deborah Harris, St. Francis Episcopal Day School, Houston, Texas
Erin Hazlett, Redding Middle School, Middletown, Del.
Justin Heckman, Abraham Lincoln High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Sharon Hoffert, James River High School, Midlothian, Va.
Allen Hogie, Brandon Valley High School, Brandon, S.D.
Thomas Holbrook, University High School, Normal, Ill.
Anna Holm, South High School, Denver, Colo.
Scot Hovan, Mahtomedi High School, Mahtomedi, Minn.
Linda Hutchinson, Shadle Park High School, Spokane, Wash.

William Joern, Whitefish Middle School, Whitefish, Mont.
Merlene Jones, Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School, St. Thomas, V.I.
Brant Jungek, Frontier Middle School, Casper, Wyo.

Anne Keith, Chief Joseph Middle School, Bozeman, Mont.
Sherry Kelly, Corporate Landing Middle School, Virginia Beach, Va.
Nancy Kent, Hartford High School, White River Junction, Vt.
George King, Friendship Christian School, Lebanon, Tenn.
Kimberly Knighton, Profile School, Bethlehem, N.H.
David Kukla, Sabino High School, Tucson, Ariz.

Lesley Lamphier, Moline High School, Moline, Ill.
Claire Laquerre, Woonsocket High School, Woonsocket, R.I.
Lisa Larson, Detroit Lakes Senior High, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
William Leacock, Wellington C. Mepham High School, Bellmore, N.Y.
Tonya Lee, White Knoll High, Lexington, S.C.
Travis Lemon, American Fork Junior High, American Fork, Utah
Jeffrey Luscher, Santiago High School, Corona, Calif.

Letitia McCallister, Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fishers, Ind.
Amanda McKee, Johnsonville High School, Johnsonville, S.C.
Jess McMurray, Soda Springs High School, Soda Springs, Idaho
Debra Madjlesi, Corinth High School Academic Performing Arts Center, Corinth, Miss.
Kim Melancon, St. Amant High School, St. Amant, La.
Jeffrey Mosby, Ramsey Junior High, Fort Smith, Ark.
Cheryl Mosier, Columbine High School, Littleton, Colo.
Brendan Murphy, John Baptist Memorial High School, Bangor, Maine

Carrie Newdigger, Macksville High School, Macksville, Kan.
Toni Norrell, Calallen High School, Corpus Christi, Texas

Dawn O'Connor, Ascencion Solorsano Middle School, Gilroy, Calif.
Steven Obenhaus, Olathe North High School, Olathe, Kan.
Julie Olson, Mitchell Senior High School, Mitchell, S.D.

Scott Panik, Green Valley High School, Henderson, Nev.
Lisa Peake, Wesley Chapel High School, Wesley Chapel, Fla.
Julie Pepperman, Bearden Middle School, Knoxville, Tenn.
Laura Pratt (Pepi), Barre City Elementary and Middle School, Barre, Vt.
Kenneth Petersen, Mountain View High School, Mountain View, Wyo.
Holly Plunkett, University High School, Morgantown, W.Va.

Mickie Richardson, Parkersburg South High School, Parkersburg, W.Va.
Steven Roberts, Westlake High School, Waldorf, Md.
Ty Robinson, Provo High School, Provo, Utah
Denise Romonoski, Hyde Park Academy of Science and Mathematics, Las Vegas, Nev.
Susan Royer, Kuemper Catholic School System, Carroll, Iowa

Stephen Scannell, Gresham High School, Gresham, Ore.
Diane Schnellhammer, Ramstein High School (Department of Defense school), Ramstein Air Base, Germany
John Schober, John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Mo.
Anita Schuler, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Pittsburgh, Pa.
John Seelke, McKinley Technology High School, Washington, D.C.
Heather Sparks, Taft Middle School, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Jon Swanson, Edwin O. Smith High School, Storrs-Mansfield, Conn.

Jennifer Terry, North Oldham Middle School, Goshen, Ky.
Deborah Teuscher, Pike High School, Indianapolis, Ind.

LeeAnn Vaughan, Omaha North Magnet School, Omaha, Neb.
Lorna Vazquez, Granton High School, Granton, Wis.
Peter Vreeland, Upper Merion Area High School, King of Prussia, Pa.

Judson Wagner, Concord High School, Wilmington, Del.
Jerel Welker, Lincoln Southwest High School, Lincoln, Neb.
LaVonda White, Brandon Middle School, Brandon, Miss.
Rachel Willingham, North Henderson High School, Hendersonville, N.C.
Matthew Winking, Phoenix High School, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Jeffrey Wright, Louisville Male Traditional High School, Louisville, Ky.

Erin Yagi, Waipahu Intermediate School, Waipahu, Hawaii

Grazyna Zreda-Gostynska, Tanque Verde High School, Tucson, Ariz.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Maria C. Zacharias, NSF (703) 292-8070 mzachari@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Celestine H. Pea, NSF (703) 292-5186 cpea@nsf.gov

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/