Michelle Traynum Anderson, SC | K-6, Science, 2020

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

Michelle Traynum has been a teacher for 24 years, with the last four years at Homeland Park Primary School. She currently teaches kindergarten through second grade STEAM classes and serves as a mathematics coach for the school. She previously taught first grade for six years at South Fant Elementary School, one year at McLees Elementary School, and 13 years at Midway Elementary School. Michelle is a Project Lead The Way Launch teacher and implements this curriculum in her classroom. The Project Lead The Way model takes the project-based learning approach and encourages students to collaborate with each other to solve real-world problems. At the school and district levels, Michelle has led various professional development sessions. She has also led STEAM-based professional development sessions for area teachers at a local university. In 2017, Michelle was named the District Teacher of the Year and later went on to help develop a teacher forum where she serves as a member of the leadership council. Michelle has earned a B.A., cum laude, in elementary and deaf education from Lenoir-Rhyne University and an M.Ed. in creative arts in learning from Lesley University. She is a National Board Certified Early Childhood Generalist.

• High-resolution version of the official portrait photograph
• Awardee with Dr. Quincy Brown, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Dr. Sylvia Butterfield, Acting Assistant Director at the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) within the National Science Foundation (NSF)
• High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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