I am incredibly honored to receive the Presidential Award. This award recognizes my commitment to designing authentic learning experiences for my students to investigate scientific phenomena so that they may understand and appreciate the natural world. I dedicate this award to my students; it is their enthusiasm toward learning and natural curiosity that inspire me day after day.

Jill Buchsbaum Salt Lake City, UT | K-6, Science, 2018

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Jill Buchsbaum has been an educator in the Salt Lake City School District for nine years and has spent the last seven years teaching all subjects of fourth grade at Uintah Elementary School. She previously taught third grade at Mountain View Elementary School and sixth grade at North Star Elementary School for one year each. Jill is passionate about designing authentic and engaging learning experiences for her students to make sense of science concepts and the natural world. Her most recent class participated in Trout in the Classroom, a program that provides classrooms with the necessary equipment to hatch and raise rainbow trout from eggs. Her students were responsible for feeding the trout, monitoring the water quality and temperature, and recording observations. Jill has also partnered with Utah Water Watch and the Division of Public Lands to provide her students with opportunities to apply and extend science concepts learned in the classroom to real world settings. Jill is a leader and advocate for her profession. She became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2017, serves as her school’s science fair coordinator, and has completed several professional development science courses. Jill earned a B.A. in history from Colgate University and a M.A.T. from San Diego State University. She is a certified elementary teacher and has an endorsement in English as a second language.

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