Texas Tech University Center for Engineering Outreach
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May 5, 2006

Pre-college Engineering Academy Teacher receives Presidential Award

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching

Washington, DC – President George W. Bush honored science teacher Nancy Schunke, from Dunbar Middle School in Lubbock, as a recipient of the 2005 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honor for science and math teachers.

In a citation given to Schunke, President Bush commended her “for embodying excellence in teaching, for devotion to the learning needs of the students, and for upholding the high standards that exemplify American education at its finest.”

Schunke is the only science winner from Texas and one of only 100 7th-12th grade teachers nationwide to receive the prestigious award.

Established in 1983 by an Act of Congress, the annual awards are administered on behalf of the White House by the National Science Foundation. Each year, recipients are chosen from all 50 states and four jurisdictions: Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Education Activity Schools; and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands.

Teachers are selected for the awards based on their contributions in the classroom and to their profession. Recipients are considered leaders in their profession and community.

“Excellent teachers help students learn challenging mathematics and science content every day, and the Presidential Awards give us, as a nation, a way to show how much we value and appreciate their contributions,” said Celeste Pea, Ph.D., Program Director of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education programs at the National Science Foundation. “We hope their example will stimulate the creativity of other teachers and help attract new recruits to the mathematics and science teaching profession.”

Schunke was nominated for the award by John Chandler, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Engineering Outreach at Texas Tech University. Dunbar Middle School, where Schunke teaches, is one of the center's Pre-college Engineering Academy schools.

“We're thrilled by Nancy's recognition,” remarked Chandler. “Nancy has a heart for sharing her knowledge of engineering with students and she understands the importance of passing on that passion to other teachers as well.”

Following her nomination, Schunke completed a lengthy application process that required her to submit a video tape of a lesson that she had created and taught in the classroom as well as an essay reflecting on the lesson and her teaching philosophies in general.

“Having the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching...was such a valuable experience and I don't know that many teachers get this opportunity,” stated Schunke. “I hope to use this opportunity to recognize the many good teachers who helped me become the teacher I am today.”

Schunke was recognized as one of three finalists from the state of Texas by the Texas Education Agency at the 2006 Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching. Fellow finalist Lyneille Meza, a high school mathematics teacher from Denton, Texas, was also selected as a 2006 Presidential Awards recipient.

As an award winner, Schunke received a $10,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and an all expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC for a week of professional development sessions, celebratory events and the official awards ceremony. Highlights of the trip included conversations with leaders in education policy and opportunities to meet dignitaries from the executive and legislative branches.

“One of the most important rewards the teachers...receive is the ability to network with each other about how to make mathematics and science relevant to their students,” said Pea.

Recipients also received various learning tools to take back and use in their classrooms. The tools, donated by corporations and government agencies, will help teachers like Schunke further enhance their classrooms and innovate new ways to teach science and mathematics.

- Robert D. Waller