Four Iowa teachers have been selected as the state’s finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Staci Hupp is spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Education.
She says the two math finalists are Zac Christian, a second-grade teacher at Perkins Elementary in Des Moines, and Natalie Franke, a second-grade teacher at Brookview Elementary in Waukee. The two science finalists are Lisa Chizek, a 5th-and 6th-grade teacher at North Tama Elementary, and Ashley Flatebo, an instructional coach at Jefferson Elementary in Mason City.
Two of the four finalists from Iowa will be recognized with the nation’s highest honor for K-through-12 teachers of math and science. Hupp says the award recipients will receive a paid trip to Washington, D.C. next year, to attend recognition events and professional development programs.
“They also receive a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation and a certificate signed by the President of the United States,” Hupp said. The awards program was created in 1983.
Earlier this month, the 2016 awards ceremony was held and the Iowa teachers who were honored were Ann Johnson, a math teacher at Sageville Elementary in Dubuque, and Joshua Steenhoek, a science teacher at Jefferson Intermediate School in Pella.