Three Teachers Heading to National Math/Science Academy This Summer

Brittney Bray, a fifth-grade teacher at Walkertown Elementary School, Betty Jo Moore, a fourth-grade teacher at Brunson Elementary School, and Kathleen Crook, a fifth-grade teacher at Morgan Elementary, have been selected to attend the 2012 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, N.J.

Kathleen Crook

The goal of the Academy is to help teachers engage students in math and science at an early age in hopes of  retaining their interest in these subjects through college and into their careers.

“I can honestly say that I am very excited to have been selected and am honored to be representing our school system and school at the academy,” Moore said.

"I am so excited and honored to attend this academy," Bray said. "I am always looking for new ways to incorporate math and science into my classroom in a hands-on and exciting way for my students, and I know I am going to get some great ideas from the Academy to come back and not only use in my own classroom, but to share with the other teachers at my school!"  

Bray, Moore and Crook are three of 200 third- through fifth-grade teachers from around the country selected to attend the one-week, all-expenses-paid program this summer. A panel of educators from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) selected Bray, Moore, and Crook from the more than 1,000 teachers nationwide who applied. The panel based its decisions on the teachers’ qualifications, dedication to inspiring students at an early age and overall commitment to enhancing the teaching profession.

Brittney Bray

During the Academy, which is scheduled for July 22-27, the teachers will discover new ways to excite students using experiments that demonstrate various math and science concepts including force, gravity and probability. The Academy curriculum works to deepen teachers’ understanding of these principles by conducting hands-on experiments that they can share with their students in the classroom.

Betty Jo Moore

The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy was founded in 2005. A partnership with PGA golfer Phil Mickelson, his wife, Amy, and ExxonMobil, it was developed with support from the National Science Teachers Association and Math Solutions.

This year, more than 600 teachers will attend one of the three Academies scheduled in New Jersey, Louisiana and Texas. To date, more than 3,000 teachers have attended the Academy, impacting more than 175,000 students from across the country with the lessons and skills they learned.

To nominate local teachers for the 2013 Academy, please visit www.sendmyteacher.com