Costello receives Presidential teaching award
Pinedale Middle School teacher Michele Costello
April 12, 2005
Local Pinedale Middle School teacher Michele Costello was one of two teachers from Wyoming to receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for 2004, the nation’s highest honor for teaching in these fields. On Tuesday, April 12, President George W. Bush announced the 95 educators who received the award for 2004. The teachers will be in the Washington, DC, from April 11-16, 2005, to receive the award. Polly BeeBout, from Casper, Wyoming, was also recognized.
Awardees receive a $10,000 educational grant for their schools from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the independent federal agency that administers the awards program. Winners received an all expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capitol for a week-long celebration which includes an awards ceremony, professional learning opportunities, conversations with leaders in education policy, and opportunities to meet dignitaries from the executive and legislative branches. Established in 1983, the awards are administered by the National Science Foundation.
During the week the teachers will tour the White House and be honored in an awards ceremony hosted by John H. Marburger III, science advisor to the president and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). They will also meet with members of Congress and the administration to discuss current issues in mathematics and science teaching and share their expertise and viewpoints.
The awardees are selected from mathematics and science teachers in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Territories, and the U.S. Department of Defense Schools. After an initial selection process at the state or territory level, a national panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, and educators recommends teachers to receive the Presidential Awards.
Later this year, all the Presidential Awardees will travel to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to participate in the Disney Youth Education Series programs, where the teachers will go behind the scenes of the theme parks to examine and explore science, leadership, history, and art.
Related Links:
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
National Science Foundation
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