Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching

Montana has had 42 Presidential Awardees since 1984!! 

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science (including computer science) teaching. Established by Congress in 1983, the PAEMST program authorizes the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year.

Awards are given to mathematics and science (including computer science) teachers from each of the 50 states and four U.S. jurisdictions. The jurisdictions are Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Education Activity schools; and the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

The award recognizes those teachers who develop and implement a high-quality instructional program that is informed by content knowledge and enhances student learning. Since the program's inception, more than 4,300 teachers have been recognized for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.

Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science (including computer science) education. The National Science Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Recipients of the award receive the following:

• A certificate signed by the President of the United States.
• A paid trip for two to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities.
• A $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

In addition to recognizing outstanding teaching in mathematics or science (including computer science), the program provides teachers with an opportunity to build lasting partnerships with colleagues across the nation. This growing network of award-winning teachers serves as a vital resource for improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and keeping America globally competitive.

CRITERIA: 

This year Secondary Teachers (7-12) are eligible to be nominated and apply!  

The following are eligibility criteria for nominees. They must:

• Teach mathematics or science (including computer science) as part of their contracted teaching responsibilities at the 7-12th grade level in a public or private school.
• Hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Be a full-time employee of the school or school district as determined by state and district policies, with responsibilities for teaching students no less than 50% of the school's allotted instructional time.
• Have at least five years of full-time employment as a K-12 teacher during which mathematics or science (including computer science) has been a part of the applicant's teaching duties prior to the 2014-2015 academic school year.
• Teach in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense Education Activity schools, or the U.S. territories as a group (American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands).
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Not have received the PAEMST award at the national level in any prior competition or category.

NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

The 2015 Awards will honor mathematics and science (including computer science) teachers working in grades 7-12. Nominations close on April 1, 2015 - so hurry and get the nomination put in.  The application deadline is May 1, 2015. 

Click here for more information! 

Join us at MBI

MCTM is pleased to partner with OPI to offer professional development on the Montana Common Core State Standards in Mathematics.  MCTM will be hosting a workshop​ ​ "CCSS Alignment - What Happens Before, During and After Your Grade Level in Math?"  as part of the Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI) summer institute June 15th to June 19th at MSU in Bozeman.  The purpose of this workshop is for participants to understand how the Common Core State Standards are vertically aligned from K-8. Participants will understand which skills and concepts have been removed the current mile wide, inch deep curriculum, and which skills and concepts need to be taught with greater depth. Participants will have  the opportunity to practice creating a learning progression from a given set of activities and then will be expected to create their own learning progression (with a partner or group) for a given concept or skill. 

Angel Zickefoose and Jennifer Brackney are the presenters for the workshop.  ​Angel is Past-President of Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics and currently a 6th grade teacher in Billings, Montana. She has been a K-8 math coach for Billings Public Schools for 8 years prior to returning to the classroom, during which time much of the work was centered around aligning math curriculum for the Billings Public School district K-8, according to the Common Core State Standards. Angel has presented at a local, state and western regional level.  Jennifer is a current MCTM Board Member representing Region 5. She has taught math for 10 years in the middle school including 6th, 7th, 8th and Algebra, in Billings. Montana. She has worked with Billings Public Schools in the development of their middle school curriculum and its alignment to the Common Core State Standards.

Registration for MBI and the MCTM workshop opens on March 16th.  If you would like to register, go to http://www.montana.edu/cs/conferences/mbi//.  For more information on the registration fees you can go to the OPI website.  We hope to see you there!
   Thanks, 
      Hilary Risser, PDA Chair