Putnam County 3rd grade
teacher named Science Teacher of the Year
INSTITUTE, WV – A third grade teacher at West Teays
Elementary School in Putnam County has been named Science Teacher of the Year
by the West Virginia Academy of Science (WVAS).
Barbara Lavon ‘Tootie’ Black, a 17-year teacher veteran,
received the John Warner Outstanding Teacher Award during the Academy’s 87th
annual meeting and Science, Technology and Research Symposium (STaR) at West
Virginia State University on Saturday (April 21).
“All children deserve an education that will prepare
them for a successful and rewarding life,” says Mrs. Black, who earned a
bachelor’s degree in elementary education from West Virginia State and a
master’s degree from Marshall University. She earned voluntary accreditation as
a National Board Certified Teacher in 2001 and renewed that certification in
2011.
“I believe students should be actively involved in
their own learning. So I captivate their interests by providing a world
of science, such as raising trout, hissing cockroaches, a guinea pig,
tarantula, crayfish and greenhouse projects to get them engaged.”
The Academy of Science’s teacher of the year award
recognizes a kindergarten through 12th grade science teacher who
inspires and makes a significant impact in the lives of students. Mrs. Black
was selected following a state-wide call for nominees.
For achieving the award, Mrs. Black received a $300
stipend and a lifetime membership from the WVAS and was a special luncheon
guest with Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Dr. Paul Hill, U.S.
Senator Jay Rockefeller and National Science Foundation Director Dr. Subra
Suresh during the STaR Symposium and WVAS meeting.
Founded in 1924, the West Virginia Academy of
Science is an organization of scientists and science faculty from around the
state representing disciplines ranging from astronomy to zoology, and
everything in between. Learn more about the WVAS at www.marshall.edu/wvas.
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Contacts:
Kelly
Merritt
West
Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
Office:
304.558.4128 extension
7
Micheal
Fultz, Ph.D.
West
Virginia Academy of Science
304
766-3106