An Iowa teacher was honored in Washington, D.C. this week. Danielle Spaete of Pleasant Valley High School won the 2005 Presidential Award for Math and Science Teaching. Spaete got to meet President Bush. She says the President was very personable, he thanked them for teaching, made a few jokes and took a picture with the teachers.

Spaete says new teachers can learn from their peers. She says she learned a lot from teachers through the years, and says her advice to others is to look around and see who’s doing a good job. Spaete says her profession continues to change.

She says there’s probably a technology upgrade in her future as the technology used to teach has changed quite a bit. Spaete was the only Iowa teacher to receive the science award.