WINDHAM – Lisa McLellan, a chemistry teacher at Windham High School, is one of four teachers in Maine in the running for the nation’s highest honor for mathematics and science, according to Sandy Prince, superintendent of Regional School Unit 14.
“I am really delighted that she’s been nominated for this prestigious award,” Prince said.
McLellan, 49, of Saco was recognized during a ceremony at the Maine Science Teachers Association Conference in Gardiner earlier this month as a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
The other Maine finalists include educators Robin Kennedy from Sebasticook Valley Middle School, William O’Brien from Camden Hills Regional High School, and Amy Troiano from Westbrook High School.
According to Prince, McLellan, who has been teaching in Windham for 10 years, goes beyond her required course load by helping to engage students in science exploration.
She has mentored seniors in advanced independent study that focuses on different laboratory techniques. The studies are for students who have successfully completed both honors chemistry and advanced placement chemistry, McLellan said.
“If [students] are interested in learning more, then they can take this independent study, and in that course, students learn how to run a chemistry lab,” McLellan said, which includes learning about chemical safety, preparing chemicals, and setting up the equipment for labs.
“They get to decide the topics of the course and get to do more in-depth work than they do at the honors or AP (advanced placement) level,” she said. “Some of the kids who have done it before have been able to get jobs when they get to college, working in a lab or stockroom maintaining chemicals.”
Through the American Chemical Society, and by coaching Science Olympiad and Science Bowl teams, McLellan brings STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning to her students.
McLellan helped to expand Windham’s Science Olympiad team from one team to two teams. This year the team placed fifth in the state, she said.
“They try to tackle problems that are more advanced,” she said of her students. “It’s fun because the kids are picking things they are interested in doing. It’s creative and sets the bar high for them to learn outside of what’s in the normal classroom.”
McLellan has built a science program at Windham High School that motivates students, challenges them to learn at all levels and inspires them to love learning science, she said. She has also developed curriculum for an advanced placement chemistry lab that she has implemented at the high school. That program has grown from less than 10 students in the first year to 40 in the eighth year, she said.
According to Windham High School Principal Chris Howell, McLellan established student participation in the ACS Chemistry Olympiad local exam, where the top 10 chemistry students in Maine are selected each year to participate at the national level.
A maximum of two students per school can attend the national exam. Windham has competed in the ACS Chemistry Olympiad for six years, McLellan said.
“Every year, [two] out of the top 10 students in Maine all came from Lisa’s classes,” Howell said. “She has always had strong advanced placement scores. She teaches her kids how to think and not just memorize. She goes beyond just teaching students content to having students think like scientists,” Howell added.
McLellan graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2003 with a bachelor of science degree in biology. She completed additional teacher certification coursework at the University of New England and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.
“Each of these outstanding Maine educators is deserving of this national recognition,” said Maine Department of Education Chief Academic Officer Rachelle Tome. “Math and science are the foundations of innovation, and helping Maine kids develop proficiency and passion in these subjects is critical to the future success of these students and our state’s economy.”
As part of the application process for the award, McLellan had to write a paper on the “10 different dimensions of what makes a good teacher.” She also was required to record a classroom lesson, and write about how the lesson demonstrated best teaching practices, she said.
Windham High School’s Assistant Principal Kelli Deveaux and two parents, who both recognized “what a nice job Lisa had done with their students,” recommended McLellan for the award, Howell said.
“Amongst her peers, she is seen as a leader,” he said. “Staff really look to her for her opinion.”
Deveaux agrees.
“Lisa McLellan is by far the most influential teacher on our staff of 140,” Deveaux wrote in her recommendation letter to the evaluators for the Presidential Awards for Excellence. “Her love of science is infectious, and her teaching methods are exemplary.”
But it’s not just McLellan’s colleagues who commend her work. While recently developing a video about Windham High School, Deveaux said, she was “struck by the number of students [she] interviewed who stated that Ms. McLellan was their most influential teacher. The students spoke of her compassion, but also that she taught them how to learn, and how to really think.”
The National Science Foundation will select two winners from each state. The winners will be recognized at a conference next spring in Washington, D.C., where they will participate in professional development with peers and receive a $10,000 award, said Superintendent Sandy Prince.
“This recognition, whether she wins or not, demonstrates Lisa’s passion for teaching chemistry and physics to high school students,” Prince said. “She goes way beyond the call of duty.”
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