The Presidential Award signifies an accomplished educator of STEM. It is an honor to be recognized for something that I so deeply enjoy—teaching mathematics. This public recognition shows the world the high value we as Americans place on the education of our future generations. This award affirms and validates all my hard work in developing my pedagogy as an educator.

Amber Linn Bend, OR | K-6, Mathematics, 2020

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

Amber Linn has been an educator for the past 18 years. She began her teaching career teaching first grade at Greenhurst Elementary School for two years followed by three years as a gifted and talented education teacher at Highland Elementary School. Amber then taught fourth and fifth grade at Pine Ridge Elementary School for 11 years and, in 2019, worked with a team of teacher leaders to create and implement a vision for a new elementary school—North Star Elementary School. For the past two years she taught fourth grade at North Star Elementary. Currently, Amber is working as an instructional coach for the Bend La Pine School District. Amber is a passionate mathematics educator that finds fulfillment in creating a classroom of problem solvers. Her students are steeped in the joy of mathematics through her enthusiasm towards the subject. She knows that the problems of the future are uncertain. The only certainty is that our children will need to be competent problem solvers. Amber’s classroom has been used as a lab classroom for the Oregon State University – Cascades M.A.T. education program’s mathematics methods course. During this time, she has modeled best practices in mathematics for the teacher candidates to then implement in their own practice. This is one of the many ways Amber has spread the importance of how we productively teach mathematics. In 2005 Amber was awarded the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. In 2010, Amber was nominated as the teacher of the year for Pine Ridge Elementary School. Amber earned her B.S. in sociology from Portland State University. She has an M.A.T. in education from Eastern Oregon University. She is a certified elementary teacher with her endorsement in gifted and talented education.

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