May 18, 2018
The Texas Medical
Association (TMA) named eleven Texas
science teachers winners of its 2018 Ernest
and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching. TMA recognizes elementary, middle, and high school
teachers for helping to create tomorrow’s physicians by inspiring students in
the field of science. Teachers receive cash prizes and their schools receive
cash resource grants to enhance their science program.
TMA honored three first-place
winners, one each selected from elementary, middle, and high school entrants, today at TexMed,
the association’s annual conference, in San Antonio.Physicians surprised one of the top winners as the “overall winner,”
which carries with it an additional cash award. Three second and two third-place
awards, and three rookie awards (given to science teachers with fewer than five
years of teaching experience) will be presented in upcoming hometown ceremonies.
Overall Winner:
TMA selected the overall
winner from the first-place honorees. The recipient of this top honor is Norma Burke of Early College High
School in Houston. She receives $5,000
in addition to her first-place winner prize.
First-Place Winners:
A’ndrea Fisher – Freiheit Elementary
School, New Braunfels
Julie Frey – Trinity Valley
School, Fort Worth
Mrs. Burke – Early College High
School, Houston
(See winner biographies
below.)
TMA awarded eachhonoree a $6,000 cash prize, plus her school
receives a $2,000 resource grant to enhance science classroom learning.
Second-Place Winners:
Christi Fuchs – Hunt Elementary, Cuero
Megan Ngo – W.P. McLean Middle School,Fort Worth
Anne Marie Wakefield – Carnegie
Vanguard High School, Houston
Second-place winners each
receive a $4,000 cash prize and their schools receive a $1,000 resource grant.
Third-Place Winners:
Kelly Suarez – Thompson Elementary,Haslet
Usha Devathosh – North Houston Early
College High School, Houston.
TMA gives each third-place
winner a $2,000 cash prize and a $1,000 resource grant for her school.
Rookie Award Winners:
Hannah
Cotten
– Hill Elementary, Austin
Julia
Julian
– Lamar Middle School, Austin
JoAnna
Rogowski
– IDEA College Prep Mission, Mission.
Each rookie award
winner receives a $1,500 cash prize and her school receives a $1,000 resource
grant.
Norma Burke —
Overall Winner, and High School First-Place Winner –
Houston
Mrs. Burke teaches Pre-AP
biology at Early College High School in Houston. “I believe that all students
should have an opportunity to explore and feel wonder about what they are
doing,” she says. “My passion as a teacher is having students succeed not only
in my classroom but in life.” Mrs. Burke goes the extra mile, helping students relate
to science so they not only understand the concepts but develop the knowledge
and confidence to explain them. Colleagues praise her success at engaging students
from all walks of life in science. “Her ability to reach students from
disadvantaged backgrounds and give them opportunities to learn in proactive,
differentiated methods” is one of Mrs. Burke’s true strengths, says Early
College High School principal Jeff Hutchinson. “She has so many positive
attributes that make her a top-flight teacher.”
A’ndrea Fisher — First-Place Elementary School Winner –
New Braunfels
Mrs. Fisher teaches first-grade
science at Freiheit Elementary School in New Braunfels. She encourages her students
get “messy” and explore the world around them. “The messiness of learning
really opens up the minds of my students,” Mrs. Fisher says. She is not afraid
to bring silliness into her classroom, dressing up in costumes on days her
class conducts hands-on experiments. “Kids want to have fun, and they learn so
much through play,” she says. Mrs. Fisher’s infectious enthusiasm for learning
spreads to her students. “A’ndrea’s first grade classroom is where students
develop a love for science,” says Sara Elley, Campus Instructional Coach for
Freiheit Elementary. “It is a common occurrence to see her former students
flagging her down in the halls because of the significant impact she has had on
their education.”
Julie Frey — First-Place Middle School Winner – Fort
Worth
Mrs. Frey teaches
sixth grade life science at Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth. She structures
her curriculum so her students feel like true scientists in the field. They
keep observational journals and have opportunities to create their own
experiments. “I am ardent in providing an environment where students practice
critical thinking, inquiry, and problem-solving skills,” she says. “If I can
make a connection between my classroom and the outside world, I have created a
lifelong learner.” Mrs. Frey is a special kind of teacher — one who inspires a love
for science, say Neta and Corey Mandel, parents of two graduates of Mrs. Frey’s
class. “Through her presentations and interactive labs, [students] come away
not just with knowledge of protists, fungi, and even yeast, but an actual
emotional attachment. To us, that is what makes an outstanding teacher.”
The 2018 TMA
Ernest and Sarah Butler Awards for Excellence in Science Teaching are made
possible with a grant from the Texas Medical Association Foundation, which is
supported through an endowment generously established by Dr. and Mrs. Ernest C.
Butler and gifts from physicians and their families.
TMA
is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than
51,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110
component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since
1853 is to improve the health of all Texans. TMA Foundation is the
philanthropic arm of the association and raises funds to support the population
health, science and quality-of-care priority initiatives of TMA and the family
of medicine.
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Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381;
cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
Marcus
Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org
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