Post by southsidesignmaker on Apr 20, 2010 9:56:49 GMT -5
Department of Energy has new coach
Neuqua teacher on way to D.C. as prestigous Einstein fellow
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/schools/2175848,6_5_NA20_MIKEKENNEDY_S1-100420.article
April 20, 2010
By JANE DONAHUE For Sun-Times Media
When classes begin at Neuqua Valley High School this fall, one teacher will be on an adventure of a lifetime.
Physics teacher and boys track and field head coach Mike Kennedy, 35, will be sharing his expertise in our nation's capital as part of the Albert Einstein Fellowship Program.
ยป Click to enlarge image
Neuqua teacher Mike Kennedy (shown here March 31) has earned a spot in the Albert Einstein Fellowship program. He will leave the high school for a year while he works in Washington, D.C., for the Department of Energy. He has taught at the school for 10 years.
(Jane Donahue/For Sun-Times Media)
Teacher of the Year, too
Mike Kennedy was also honored this year as the 2010 Illinois AP Physics Teacher of the Year.
The award, sponsored by the Siemens Foundation, recognizes a teacher in each state who demonstrates exemplary teaching and student dedication in advanced placement math, science or technology classes. Kennedy's award includes a $1,000 grant for Neuqua Valley High School to support the math and sciences.
"The Siemens Foundation congratulates Mike Kennedy on earning this prestigious award," said Jeniffer Harper Taylor, president of the New Jersey-based Siemens Foundation. "We are proud to recognize his significant contributions to AP physics study both inside and outside of the classroom."
"I would like to see science education really improve in this country, and they have the same mission," said Kennedy, about partnering with the program. "I want to change as much as I can about science education and make it better -- that's really what I want to do."
Kennedy has been selected to be a member of The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program, along with 19 other teachers from across the country. For a one-year term, Kennedy will swap his south Naperville classroom for an office on Capitol Hill to provide an educator's perspective to those managing educational programs.
The program, signed into law in November 1994, offers current elementary and secondary educators the opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. Selected teachers spend a school year in a congressional office, the Department of Energy, or a federal agency such as NASA.
Kennedy will spend the 2010-2011 school year in Washington, D.C., sharing his extensive knowledge and classroom experience with the Department of Energy.
"The thing I am the best at is teaching, and this is the way I can help the most," Kennedy said. "I look at it like serving my country."
Kennedy will be missed on the Wildcat campus, both in the classroom and the athletic arena. Neuqua Valley High School Principal Bob McBride said he is not surprised that Kennedy is the recipient of the "prestigious honor."
"Obviously, he has the depth of knowledge in his field to meet the expectations of the Einstein Fellowship," McBride said. "More importantly, he is a tremendous teacher and coach. He possesses a rare talent that attracts others to and energizes them about science. He gives the process wonder -- both in academics and athletics. Students as a result become as passionate as him."
While Kennedy and his family are looking forward to the one-year stint in Washington, D.C., the Neuqua Valley teacher knows it will be difficult to leave his classroom behind, even temporarily.
"Without question I will miss students the most," Kennedy said. "I will miss the day-to-day interaction with my students and my athletes. That is the whole reason I am here."
Neuqua teacher on way to D.C. as prestigous Einstein fellow
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/schools/2175848,6_5_NA20_MIKEKENNEDY_S1-100420.article
April 20, 2010
By JANE DONAHUE For Sun-Times Media
When classes begin at Neuqua Valley High School this fall, one teacher will be on an adventure of a lifetime.
Physics teacher and boys track and field head coach Mike Kennedy, 35, will be sharing his expertise in our nation's capital as part of the Albert Einstein Fellowship Program.
ยป Click to enlarge image
Neuqua teacher Mike Kennedy (shown here March 31) has earned a spot in the Albert Einstein Fellowship program. He will leave the high school for a year while he works in Washington, D.C., for the Department of Energy. He has taught at the school for 10 years.
(Jane Donahue/For Sun-Times Media)
Teacher of the Year, too
Mike Kennedy was also honored this year as the 2010 Illinois AP Physics Teacher of the Year.
The award, sponsored by the Siemens Foundation, recognizes a teacher in each state who demonstrates exemplary teaching and student dedication in advanced placement math, science or technology classes. Kennedy's award includes a $1,000 grant for Neuqua Valley High School to support the math and sciences.
"The Siemens Foundation congratulates Mike Kennedy on earning this prestigious award," said Jeniffer Harper Taylor, president of the New Jersey-based Siemens Foundation. "We are proud to recognize his significant contributions to AP physics study both inside and outside of the classroom."
"I would like to see science education really improve in this country, and they have the same mission," said Kennedy, about partnering with the program. "I want to change as much as I can about science education and make it better -- that's really what I want to do."
Kennedy has been selected to be a member of The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program, along with 19 other teachers from across the country. For a one-year term, Kennedy will swap his south Naperville classroom for an office on Capitol Hill to provide an educator's perspective to those managing educational programs.
The program, signed into law in November 1994, offers current elementary and secondary educators the opportunity to serve in the national public policy arena. Selected teachers spend a school year in a congressional office, the Department of Energy, or a federal agency such as NASA.
Kennedy will spend the 2010-2011 school year in Washington, D.C., sharing his extensive knowledge and classroom experience with the Department of Energy.
"The thing I am the best at is teaching, and this is the way I can help the most," Kennedy said. "I look at it like serving my country."
Kennedy will be missed on the Wildcat campus, both in the classroom and the athletic arena. Neuqua Valley High School Principal Bob McBride said he is not surprised that Kennedy is the recipient of the "prestigious honor."
"Obviously, he has the depth of knowledge in his field to meet the expectations of the Einstein Fellowship," McBride said. "More importantly, he is a tremendous teacher and coach. He possesses a rare talent that attracts others to and energizes them about science. He gives the process wonder -- both in academics and athletics. Students as a result become as passionate as him."
While Kennedy and his family are looking forward to the one-year stint in Washington, D.C., the Neuqua Valley teacher knows it will be difficult to leave his classroom behind, even temporarily.
"Without question I will miss students the most," Kennedy said. "I will miss the day-to-day interaction with my students and my athletes. That is the whole reason I am here."