Winning the Presidential Award helped me realize how impactful exemplary science teaching is to young and impressionable students, especially the girls. Hooking fourth grade students into the wonders of science set them up for the remainder of their education and life. I went on to win the Milken Family Foundation Award, finalist for Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, and a NOAA Teacher at Sea on the Sea Scallop Survey. I could not have wished for a more satisfying career.

Linda Helveston Gordonville, PA | K-6, Science, 1997

Linda Helveston was teaching fourth grade at Leacock Elementary School when she won the 1997 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in the science category for the state of Pennsylvania. In total, she has taught kindergarten for six years; was the owner of and teacher at Paradise Learning Nursery School for nine years; taught fourth grade for 17 years; taught one year of ESL in Omyia, Japan; and taught four years of gifted and IST at Salisbury School. Of these years, 32 were in public school teaching. Linda earned her degree in elementary education from Millersville State College in 1966 and her M.Ed. from Millersville University in 1971. During her tenure she received the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 1998 and was a finalist for Pennsylvania State Teacher of the Year in 2001. While teaching at Salisbury she set up a portable science lab and helped teachers introduce STEM to their students before STEM was initiated. She was a NOAA Teacher at Sea in 2006 with the Sea Scallop Survey, based out of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

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