Emily Sherman, a science teacher at the Longview School in Deerfield, has been named as one of the 2013 New Hampshire recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching. She was honored at the Leadership in Education Banquet in Concord on December 11 in recognition of her exemplary leadership abilities, professional growth and achievement, and her commitment to excellence in education.
The Longview School specializes in experiential education for students in grades’ 9-12 with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The school is part of the Regional Services and Education Center (RSEC).
“Emily is a highly engaged and valued member of our teaching staff and we are thrilled that she has achieved this honor. We often find her outside with her students gardening, bird watching, or knee-deep in a stream catching dragonfly larvae to sample for mercury contamination. She exemplifies our commitment to experiential learning at Longview,” said Thomas Jennings, director of the school.
Sherman is a National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescence and Young Adulthood Science, a performance-based certification for accomplished master teachers. She received a Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship for bringing biology case studies into the classroom and a Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship for excellence in geography education. She is passionate about sharing her science expertise with other educators and is a frequent presenter at state and national science conferences.
The video Sherman submitted for this award showed a lesson on genetics in the biology classroom. Students were using Reebops, a model “organism” made from marshmallows, to illustrate Mendelian genetics and create pedigrees. Because of their attentional challenges, students at the Longview School are more successful in classrooms that provide them with physical manipulatives to learn key concepts.
She has a B.A. in Environmental Education from Prescott College in Arizona and a M.S. in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. She taught science in New Mexico and Maine before moving to New Hampshire.
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the PAEMST program authorizes the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year. In the spring, one of the four nominees will be selected by the National Science Foundation for this prestigious award to travel to Washington D.C. Recipients of the award receive the following:
A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
A paid trip for two to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.
For more information contact:
Lori Temple, NH Department of Education
(603) 271-6646
Lori.Temple@doe.nh.gov
