Come back next year to nominate for 2012

TSTA Science Educator of the Year Awards 2011

Tracy Maness
The 2011 K-4 Science Educator of the Year is Tracy Maness of Lakeview Elementary School in Wilson County. Mrs. Maness is in her 10th year of teaching, and she teaches 4th grade science. Her test scores are consistently among the highest in the state, and she strives to create a real-world atmosphere for science through activities like her “Maness School of Medicine” that she holds every year.

Jake Nichols
The 2011 5-8 Science Educator of the Year is Jake Nichols of Crockett County Middle School in the Crockett County School System. Mr. Nichols has been teaching for 13 years, and he believes that his excitement of science should be contagious. He says his favorite thing about being a teacher is knowing that his teaching may impact students for a lifetime.

Guy Maxwell
The 2011 9-12 Science Educator of the Year is Guy Maxwell. Mr. Maxwell teaches Chemistry and Physics at Peabody High School in the Trenton Special School District. He has been teaching for 15 years, and he really enjoys teaching science because it allows him to “show kids all kinds of really cool things,” and he has the goal of giving students more opportunities in science by expanding the dual-enrollment program at his school.

Billy Hix
The 2001 Higher Education Science Educator of the Year is Billy Hix of Motlow College in Lynchburg. His extensive teaching career has already spanned 32 years, and during those years he has initiated many programs to improve science literacy and interest across the state. He is highly involved with NASA, and he has been selected as the Motlow College Teacher of the Year a record-setting 7 times. He hopes to continue his outreach to both students and teachers through astronomy programs and professional development programs for years to come.

Betty Phillips
This year TSTA also chose to recognize a Distinguished Educator. The Distinguished Educator award is given to educators who have shown outstanding, life-long involvement in Science Education. This year’s recipient of this prestigious award is Betty Phillips. Betty has been a long-time member of the TSTA Board of Directors, and although she considers herself a “retired” educator, she is still very active in the field of Science Education through her work with pre-service teachers at Austin Peay State University.

TSTA would like to once again commend all of the outstanding 2011 award winners, and we would also like to encourage all of our members to nominate a fellow science educator or themselves for the 2012 awards. Application materials will be available on the website in late summer.
Submitted by Beth Sweeney