Lorna Vazquez selected for

Albert Einstein

 Distinguished Educator Fellowship

 

 

Lorna Vazquez

Lorna Vazquez, eighth through twelfth-grade math teacher at Granton Area Schools, is one of 15 teachers selected from a nation-wide pool of applicants to receive a 2008-2009 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship.  This prestigious program offers elementary and secondary mathematics, technology and science teachers with demonstrated excellence in teaching an opportunity to serve in the national education or public policy arena.  Vazquez was selected for an Einstein Fellowship at the Office of Science in the Department of Energy, headquartered in Washington, D.C., where she will work with the office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists.

Before becoming a teacher, Vazquez worked in private industry, an experience that forged her approach to teaching.  Understanding the essential role of mathematics in today’s workforce, she strives to “make more mathematics make more sense to more people.”

Vazquez has taught middle and high school mathematics for 19 years.  She began her teaching career at a residential treatment center for at-risk youth before moving into the public school arena.  Vazquez leaves behind her position as the only mathematics teacher at Granton High School.  During her 14 years at Granton, she taught all the mathematics courses from pre-algebra through AP calculus.  In addition, she taught adult learners at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin Technical College.

Vazquez has a strong interest in professional development of educators, believing that student achievement can be improved by improving teacher performance.  The professional development model which she has spearheaded in her region and state uses the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) video research to help effectively analyze the understanding of key mathematical concepts by both students and teachers.

Vazquez is active in the Wisconsin Mathematics Council and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and serves on the writing team for College Preparatory Mathematics.  In addition to presenting at numerous conferences, she contributed to the “Wisconsin Adolescent Learning Toolkit” and was recently published in “the Mathematics Teacher.”

A National Board Certified teacher in Adolescent and Young Adult Mathematics, Vazquez was awarded the 2007 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.  Her other awards include the Marshfield Wisconsin Crystal Apple Award and a Kohl Fellowship Award from the Senator Kohl Foundation. Vazquez, along with the agriculture teacher at Granton, also received a GTE Growth Initiative for Teachers (GIFT) grant for the development of a school orchard.

Vazquez received her Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and teaching license from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.

The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program was authorized by an act of Congress in 1994.  The Program is administered by the U. S. Department of Energy and is coordinated by the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education.  Selected teachers spend a school year in the Washington, D.C., metro area, serving in a congressional office or a federal agency such as the Department of Energy, NASA, National Science Foundation or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Einstein Fellows provide practical insight and real world perspectives to policy makers and program managers developing or managing education programs.  The fellowships increase the understanding, communication and cooperation between the mathematics, science and technology education community and legislative and executive branches of the federal government.

 

From the Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

October 15, 2008, Page 5

Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon, November 3, 2008

Web page by James W. Sternitzky PhD, November 7, 2008

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