Every year, a state representative is honored with the recognition of the “Presidential Award of Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.” As the state makes its selections, it narrows down a pool of applicants. Currently, the state of WV has six finalists, and two of them are not only Ohio County Schools teachers, but they are proud Warwood School Vikings!
2nd grade teachers Heather Puglisi and Christa Miller collaborate frequently, even earning the distinction of NBCT around the same time frame. Both women have spent their entire teaching careers at Warwood School, nearing a combined 25 years of experience. This year, personal and professional mentor and former OCS teacher Mary Lu Hutchins reached out regarding an opportunity: submitting an application for the Presidential Award of Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, or PAEMST. “She’s my educational hero,” Miller says of Hutchins, “When she asks you to do something, you just do it. She was our motivation.”
Submitting an application is no easy feat. Submission requires videoing lessons, self-reflection, and analysis of student data. Puglisi submitted under the science-based umbrella. Her lessons focused on building and engineering. She analyzed student writing responses using the curriculum. “Wit and Wisdom, our reading curriculum, has a unit on the American West. We were able to use that reading material on landforms to conduct experiments about erosion and make text to world connections,” states Puglisi. Miller submitted under math. She focused on addition and subtraction of numbers in the 1000s. “I used number manipulation, number discussion, and working through problems to build mathematicians. We used the cube strategy with word problems and identified weaknesses,” states Miller.
Earning their finalist status at the end of March, Both Miller and Puglisi were given the opportunity to make addendums to their submissions, and have now moved on to the national level of judging. We cannot be more proud of this amazing achievement. Congratulations to both Mrs. Puglisi and Mrs. Miller! We are rooting for you!
#InstructioninOCS #TogetherWeAchieve #NBCT #PAEMST