Four APS teachers receive White House honor

Four math and science teachers with the Albuquerque Public Schools received an award from the White House for their innovative work in the classroom.

The Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is “the highest award K-12 math and science teachers can receive from the U.S. government,” according to an APS news release. The teachers were chosen by a panel of educators, mathematicians and scientists.

The awards, announced before President Joe Biden left office, were given to Tara Palomares, a math teacher at Sandia High School; Kimberly Conell, a math teacher at La Cueva High School; Lesha Rupert, a science teacher at Eldorado High School; and Christopher Speck, a science teacher at Madison Middle School.

Heather Harrell, a teacher at Dixon Elementary School in the Española Public Schools, also received the award, APS said.

Speck, who has been an educator for over two decades, is known for his “hands-on labs to guide inquiry and create understanding” for students, according to the National Science Foundation’s website.

Rupert, an Eldorado teacher for 25 years, has students “act out protein folding and muscle contraction, make artwork when learning (about) tissues and solve crimes with simulated blood and DNA,” the NSF website said.

Conell has students use card sorts, conduct scavenger hunts, engage in vertical surface problem-solving and participate in escape rooms to teach them math, her NSF biography said.

Palomares has her students “collaborate on mathematical problems and support one another’s learning,” according to her NSF biography.

Each of the teachers received $10,000 from the National Science Foundation, a certificate signed by Biden and a trip to Washington, D.C., to be recognized for their achievement and gain professional development, according to news releases from APS and the National Science Foundation.