Laura Stevens, who teaches second grade at Kaler Elementary School in South Portland, was looking forward to “getting to know the new crop of little minds” that will fill her classroom when school starts again on Sept. 6.
However, for much of the first week of school Stevens will be in Washington, D.C., so she’ll have to wait a little longer to become acquainted with her students.
That’s because Stevens has received a prestigious Presidential Award for teaching excellence and has been invited to take part in the annual celebration, which will take place Sept. 7-9. The award also comes with a $10,000 prize.
Stevens admitted this week that the conference is “bad timing, because it falls during the first week of school.” But, she said, “You don’t say no to the White House.”
Schools throughout the area will be opening for the new year starting in the next few weeks. In Scarborough classes begin Aug. 30, and in Cape Elizabeth on Sept. 6.
Stevens was first nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2013, but there’s been such a backlog in processing the nomination and application materials that she just found out she’ll be receiving the award, which is only given out to about 200 of the 3 million teachers across the country each year. A teacher in Veazie also won the award.
Bonnie Hicks, the principal at Kaler, nominated Stevens for the presidential teaching award and said this week that she is “a masterful, brilliant teacher who understands kids’ brains and how they work.”
Hicks also said that while Stevens sets high expectations for her students, she also “has a keen sense of what instructional strategies are needed and work best for each individual student. She works to make education accessible to everyone.”
She also said that Stevens models learning to her student by “her genuine inquisitive nature. She just loves a good problem to solve and really brings the subject matter alive for the kids.”
For his part, Ken Kunin, the superintendent of schools in South Portland, said, “We are proud that the accomplishments and expertise of this outstanding educator are being recognized at the national level. Teachers approach their critical jobs with energy, caring and intelligence and it is gratifying to see this noted and rewarded.”
Stevens has taught second grade in South Portland for the past 17 years, first at Small School and now at Kaler. She has a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s in education from the University of Southern Maine.
The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching winners “are selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators following an initial selection process at the state level,” according to a press release from the White House.
In addition to being invited to the annual conference, each Presidential Award winner also receives $10,000 from the National Science Foundation to be used at their discretion.
As for what the award means to the South Portland School Department, Kunin said, “Our job is to set the conditions so that our schools and staff can do great things with and for students.”
He said, “This award lets us know we continue to meet the never-ending challenge of putting these conditions in place. The Presidential Award shines well-deserved light on the accomplishments of Dr. Laura Stevens as an outstanding teacher of elementary mathematics and really on all of our faculty and staff who bring skill, dedication and caring to their work.”
For Stevens, the award represents “really just recognition of a lot of hard work. I take guiding students in their learning really seriously.”
Like Kunin, Stevens also acknowledged all of the good work being done by teachers and students all across the school district.
On a web page dedicated to the Presidential Award in teaching winners, she said, “It honors not only me, but also the teachers, colleagues and administrators who have influenced my teaching practices. Most importantly, it celebrates the growth of my students. It is a tremendous honor.”
And, Stevens said, “This award also reflects on a district committed to quality math education.”
She credits her success in teaching to mentor and friend Nancy Austin, who “really inspired me and changed the way I thought about teaching math. I would not be the math teacher I am today without her,” Stevens said.
She also credits her love of teaching to the example set by the “masterful teachers” in her own family, from her parents, to her aunts and her grandparents. Stevens said her success in teaching really comes from “the support of my family and growing up in a household that valued education.”
She “really always wanted to be an elementary school teacher. That was my passion.”
But while in college, Stevens got diverted to the graduate school/doctoral track, which she eventually came to realize was “the wrong choice.”
But, before deciding to enroll in the Extended Teacher Education Program at the University of Southern Maine, Stevens spent four years teaching at the college level.
As a second-grade teacher, Stevens instructs far more than just math and science, but said, “I’ve always had a special affinity for math and I really enjoy delving into that particular part of the curriculum.”
She said, “The kids pick up on my passion and whenever they ask me what my favorite subjects were in school, I always tell them math and science. Even though I really enjoy reading, too.”
Stevens, who lives in Portland with a cat named Lizzy, said when she returns from Washington, she will look forward to “seeing the potential in my students and where it can take them throughout the year.”
A closer look
School starts in:
• Cape Elizabeth on Sept. 6 for students in grades 1-12. Kindergarten classes start on Sept. 9. Call the superintendent’s office at 799-2217 for more information
• Scarborough on Aug. 30 for students in grades K-2, by appointment only, and for students in grades 3, 6 and 9. Classes for the remaining grades start on Aug. 31. Call the superintendent’s office at 730-4100 for more information.
• South Portland on Sept. 6 for students in grades 1-9 and on Sept. 7 for students in grades 10-12 and entering Kindergarten. Call the superintendent’s office at 871-0555 for more information.
Laura Stevens, who teaches second grade at South Portland’s Kaler School, has recieved the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
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