Wendy Bartlett (2011)
Parkland Magnet High School
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District

Wendy Bartlett has been an educator in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System for 13 years.  Most of those years she has spent teaching mathematics at Parkland Magnet High School, although she took a respite from the classroom in 2003 to help the school implement the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.  In 2006, she returned to the classroom full-time and has enjoyed implementing Learning Focused strategies and the IB educational philosophy in her classroom.   She is a National Board Certified Teacher and the 2008 recipient of the Marcellus Waddill Excellence in Teaching award from Wake Forest University.  Wendy also works with the education department at Wake Forest University in their Master’s Teaching Fellows program. 

Teaching mathematics through the use of technology is her true passion, and she loves to create engaging lessons using technology to help her students recognize how mathematics relates to them and their futures.  Using funds from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, she hopes to purchase more technology for the mathematics classrooms at Parkland, and she wants to provide valuable staff development for herself and her colleagues to implement technology practices seamlessly into their mathematics instruction.  She also hopes to create useful and meaningful resources for teachers in Forsyth County as the new Common Core Standards are rolled out in 2012 – 2013 school year. 

Michael J. Bowman Ed.D. (2011)
North Buncombe High School
Buncombe County Schools

Michael Bowman attended Augustana College, a small private college in Illinois, he was fortunate enough to take geology classes from Dr. Anderson and calculus classes from Dr. Marrow … both of whom taught him how to learn, connect ideas/topics across content areas, and to respect/love science and mathematics.  After graduating from Augustana, he studied geophysics at Purdue University, earning a master of science degree.  This was followed by several years of working within, then consulting for, the oil industry.  In these roles he embraced the inter-connectedness of science and math in the context of real world problems, which had a profound impact on how he teaches.
 
While in the oil industry he was drawn to teaching and investigated alternate paths to teacher certification. He received his master of education degree from University of Houston.  Dr. Bowman received his doctorate degree in educational leadership from Western Carolina University in 2007.
 
Dr. Bowman's honors include; national board certification (and renewal), the 2007 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, and the 2011 Burroughs Wellcome Career Award for Science and Mathematics Teachers.

Gregory Fisher (2011)
Mt. Tabor High School
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District

Gregory Fisher is a mathematics teacher at Mt. Tabor High School in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School District.  He graduated from Davidson College in 1994 with a B.S. in Mathematics.  He   earned his Masters of Education Leadership from Framingham State College in 2003 and his National Board Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics in 2006.  

Fisher has vast teaching experiences throughout the world.  He taught ESL at middle schools in Japan and South Korea; high school mathematics in Mexico; and middle school mathematics in Brazil.   In Winston-Salem, he has taught middle school Japanese, high school Physics, and various high school mathematics classes.

He is actively involved with the Winston-Salem Jaycees and fosters community service opportunities for his students.  He also assists with the cross-country teams.  He has also provided guidance and opportunities for his students to participate in national, state, and regional math contests. 

He has facilitated workshops for his school district, North Carolina Honors and AP Conference, and for the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics state conference.  He works with Winston-Salem State University to mentor teachers across the state.  He earned the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Secondary Mathematics Teacher of the Year in 2010.  He plans to increase the community outreach programs and the resources for the district with the grant.

William Hendrickson (2009)
Warren New Tech High School
Warren County Schools

William E. Hendrickson is a science teacher at Warren New Tech High School in the Warren County School District.  He began his career as a science teacher in the Edgecombe County Schools system in 1994 at Tarboro High School. Hendrickson graduated from East Carolina University in1994 with a BS in Biology.  In 2000, he received a M.Ed. in Science Education from North Carolina State University as well as National Board Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Science.                    

Hendrickson has a host of experience working with students in science competitions at the state, regional, and local levels.  Most recently, he founded and supervised a team of students in the North Carolina Junior Engineering and Technology Society competitions in 2008 and served as a faculty advisor for the Youth Technology Corps in 2009.

Hendrickson is a member of the North Carolina Science Teachers Association, American Association of Physics Teachers, National Science Teachers Association, American Chemical Society, and has served as an evaluator for ETS Praxis Exam in Chemistry.  He has received numerous awards, among them Hendrickson was elected Teacher of the Year for Warren New Tech HS (2009-2010), Teacher of the Year for Warren County Schools (2009-2010), and Nobel Educator of Distinction (2009). 

Heather Kaiser (2011)
Pauline Jones Elementary School of Math and Natural Science
Cumberland County Schools

Heather Kaiser holds a B.S. in Elementary Education and Educational Ministry from Houghton College. Kaiser began her teaching career at Pauline Jones Elementary School in 1998 after moving from Southwestern NY to Fayetteville, NC. Over the years, Kaiser has taught children at almost every grade level from Kindergarten through 5th grade. In 2002, she received her M.Ed. in Educational Technology through Lesley University as well as achieving National Board Certification as a Middle Childhood Generalist.

After spending six years teaching 4th grade at two other Cumberland County schools, Kaiser returned to Pauline Jones Elementary in 2007, with a renewed ambition to make a difference in the lives of students who are most in need of caring and committed teachers.

Currently, she serves as the science lab teacher at Pauline Jones School of Math and Natural Science. In this role, she has been instrumental in the development of a community garden as well as gaining certification as a “green school”. Students benefit daily from the resources she has secured through grants from various organizations.

Kaiser is frequently sought after to provide both face-to-face and online staff development that spans a variety of topics such as using quality tools, infusing rigor, best practices for teaching science, incorporating technology and mentoring beginning teachers. She has recently begun creating “webinars” to assist teachers with the implementation of technology and replication of her teaching models.

With this award, Kaiser plans to further develop “Stimulating Science Simulations” that will engage students in learning about careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics through inquiry-based investigations embedded within role-play. It is her ultimate goal to share these units with other teachers via the Internet; making them easy to replicate in any classroom and on any budget.

Stuart Miles (2011)
Evergreen Community Charter School

Stuart Miles is the 7th and 8th grade science teacher at Evergreen Community Charter School in Asheville.  A graduate of the College of Charleston, Stuart began his career as a Teach for America corps member teaching 8th grade science in Helena, AR.  For the last four years he has been teaching at Evergreen, where he also serves as a middle school team leader, coaches basketball, and is a member of the Board of Directors. In 2010, he completed his Masters Degree in Science Education from Montana State University.  He was honored as the 2010-2011 North Carolina Charter School Teacher of the Year.

Miles’ classroom is a place where students create and learn with authentic audiences and purposes; he sets high standards and is committed to the success of all students.  He has created place-based curricula focused on the land and culture of southern Appalachia, and is endeavoring to develop a K-8 water quality curriculum for teachers across the state with the support of the Career Award for Science and Mathematics Teachers.

Amanda Northrup, M.A.Ed. (2011)
Riverbend Elementary School
Haywood County Schools

Amanda Northrup has been a teacher at Riverbend Elementary School for eight years. She has spent the last six years as a fifth grade teacher. Her students enjoy an engaging learning environment that strengthens their confidence, competence, and enjoyment of mathematics. Her students regularly report a new-found love of learning.

Amanda's teaching extends beyond her students to her colleagues, as well. She is a mentor for college students, beginning teachers, and school colleagues. Through her work with Partners for Mathematics Learning, Amanda is known for leading dynamic mathematics professional development sessions for elementary teachers and administrators across North Carolina. She has also developed and presented a 4-day training module for kindergarten through fifth grade teachers called Building Mathematical Thinkers.

Amanda also serves as Program Chair for the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics, organizing speakers for an annual conference attended by more than 2,000 teaching professionals. She is also the North Carolina winner of the 2010 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching.

Amanda has a B.A., summa cum laude, in education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.A.Ed. from Western Carolina University. She is certified in elementary education and is a National Board Certified Middle Childhood Generalist.

Tamica Stubbs (2009)
Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology
Charlotte/Mecklenburg Schools

Tamica A. Stubbs was educated in urban Philadelphia, PA.  Bequeathed from a single parent home and low socioeconomic status, she defied the social and academic circumstances of her childhood. After graduating from a magnet program at Franklin Learning Center High School, Stubbs attended Clarion University of Pennsylvania for six years obtaining a Bachelors and Masters in Science Education. She then became a Charlotte transplant where she began her teaching career as a general science educator at Wilson Middle School.

In 2001, Stubbs joined the E. E. Waddell High School Team and there was an avid attendee of professional development, skilled grant writer, and pioneer of new programs for students to extend their experiences beyond the high school biology courses that she taught. She utilized hands-on, minds-on and modular approaches to facilitate learning in the classroom and is a huge proponent of serving and educating the traditionally underserved populations within the science arena. Stubbs has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding through various grant opportunities to benefit her students. She believes and is driven by the stance that all students should exit the classroom with not only a knowledge base in biology but a subset of skills that readies her students for biotechnology based careers. Stubbs is an advocate for her students and her son.  She shares creative and progressive styles of teaching with hopes of inspiring students to be successful.

Stubbs now teaches at the Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology.

Claudia Walker (2009)
Murphey Traditional Academy
Guilford County Schools

Claudia Walker is a fifth grade elementary mathematics teacher at Murphey Traditional Academy in Guilford County.  She has been in the classroom since 1992, is a National Board Certified teacher, and has a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Technology. 

Walker’s dedication to her students and her profession has earned her recognition by her colleagues, students, and community.  She is passionate about using technology in the classroom in order to engage students, and encourages her students to work in an environment of cooperation and collaboration in order to prepare them for their future in our ever-changing, technological world. 

Jennifer Williams (2009)
Brevard High School
Transylvania County Schools

Jennifer Williams began her teaching career in Transylvania County after graduating from North Carolina State University as a member of the first class of North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program.  She has taught science and mathematics in Transylvania County for 12 years and is currently teaching chemistry and physics at Brevard High School. 

Four years ago, Williams partnered with Mary Arnaudin, Transylvania County’s 4H agent, to create and direct the “It’s About T.I.M.E. to do Real Science” program funded by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Student Science Enrichment Program.  During the summer/afterschool program, T.I.M.E. students engage in authentic environmental research into their own questions as they work with local scientists and teachers.  Williams has also mentored two student teams as they competed in the science fair, advancing to the international level. 

Williams states that her passion for engaging students in scientific research stemmed from her graduate work at UNC Wilmington. “I was fascinated by asking my own questions, searching the literature, talking to experts in my field, and designing and conducting my own experiments. I realized that I wanted my students to experience this fascination with doing REAL science.”  With help from the Career Award, Williams plans to start a science research course during the school day at Brevard High School in 2011.