Science Pioneers is proud to announce that we have three teacher awards available during the 2011-2012 school year. Teachers in grades 4-12 are eligible.

The Howard Gadberry Award in the amount of $500 is designed to recognize teachers in grades 4-12 who show outstanding effort toward motivation of students in the area of scientific exploration.

The Sister Martina Rockers Excellence in Teaching Award (SMETA) in the amount of $1000 sponsored by Ken-A-Vision is designed to recognize teachers in grades 9-12 with at least 20 years of teaching experience.

Want to nominate your teacher? Nomination form!

11-12 Teacher Award Winners:

This year Science Pioneers is please to present two teacher awards. Science Pioneers would like to thank our sponsors for these awards: the family of Howard Gadberry and Ken-A-Vision.

Award: Howard Gadberry Memorial

Winner: Billie Bell
Description of Award: The Howard Gadberry Memorial Award recognizes Mr. Gadberry's outstanding commitment to research professionalism, and his contributions to the community through his long-term involvement with Midwest Research Institute as their Senior Advisor for Technology. This year the award is a tie and is being presented to Billie Bell.

This year, 2012, marks 43 years of Ms. Bell's education career. She taught in a self-contained classroom for 22 years where science and math were her intentional focus, believing that through the integration of science and math, students' reading would greatly improve. A fact her students proved time and time again. And to this day, her theory has not changed. her passion for science teaching continues to increase as she witnesses children's love for science grow. She is a totally hands-on instructor, not just for the fun of teaching science, but for the increase in knowledge of basic scientific understandings and higher order thinking that results from the process. 

Her nominator, Jonita Holmes, says t hat Billie is a true scientist at heart. She lives and breathes it!! Her knowledge of the subject is so broad and profound that she can, and usually does, connect it to all the other subjects, and it actually makes sense!! When science is taught, most of her students say "YEA, Science!"

Award: The Sister Martina Rockers Award of Excellence in Teaching

Winner: Keith Hannaman
Description of Award:The Sister Martina Rockers Award is given annually by Ken-A-Vision to an area high school teacher who demonstrates the qualities of excellence in science teaching and student centered-ness that were exemplified by Sister Martina herself in her still continuing fifty-eight plus years of teaching at Bishop Miege High School. The award winner is nominated and selected by a blue ribbon panel of their peers. Ken-A-Vision as an international manufacturer of Microscopes and document cameras, is very proud to sponsor this annual award.

We are delighted to announce this year's winner is Keith Hannaman from Blue Springs South High School. Keith has been teaching science for 38 years, having taught at Southwest High School, Van Horn High School, then finally at present teaching AP Environmental Science at Blue Springs South High School.

Keith has demonstrated a high level of concern for his students' success and application of study and learning skills. He knows his students outside of the classroom in the community and commonly interacts with them at teh City Market exchanging converstation and handshakes. He applies the study of environmental science not only in the classroom, but by having his students experience the outdoors first hand by converting Young Park into a Missouri Department of Conservation Outdoor Classroom, a nationally recognized prairie restoration project, and one of the 10,000 Rain Gardens to reduce the amount of runoff that pollutes the waterways here in Kansas City.

In the tradition of Sister Martina, Keith has shared his knowledge and skills as a science teacher locally and internationally. Keith and his AP Environmental Science students put on one of the largest Earth Day celebrations in Kansas City with over 600 elementary students attending. As a Fulbright award winner, Keith traveled to Japan last summer to speak on community and place based education and the benefits of educators thinking and acting beyond their blackboards.

Keith continues the tradition of being a very worthy recipient of this prestigious award. He recieved a handsome plaque and a check to use as he sees fit.

Sister Martina herself with help from Ms. Alyse Howell, Ken-A-Vision Educational Director will present the award.