Receiving the Presidential Award is a great honor. This award shows the value placed on progressing STEM education in our country. I have dedicated myself as an educator to provide students with authentic problems that require research, creative problem solving, and critical thinking. This award validates the collaborative work I have done as an educator to instill the confidence and ability in our youth to identify societal problems and work together to create a better world for everyone.

Stephanie Basile Northglenn, CO | K-6, Science, 2020

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

Stephanie Basile has been an educator for more than 13 years and taught for the last seven years at STEM Lab. She previously taught at Northstar Elementary for two years, Meridian Elementary for three years, and began her career at Fairview Elementary for one year. Stephanie has taught fourth and fifth grades, and this past year she became the K-6 Engineering and Computer Science teacher. Stephanie’s love of learning shows in her classroom as she builds confidence in her students as well as the mindset to fail and the ability to learn from those failures. Stephanie always looks for ways to incorporate and provide real-world connections for her students. She is also passionate about instilling environmental stewardship. She heads the school’s Green Team and collaborates with area organizations and neighboring schools on environmental issues. She received multiple grants to implement and sustain the composting and recycling program. She is also a co-member of a district team tasked with improving sustainability in as many of the 50+ schools in the district as possible. Stephanie has served on many district and state committees dealing with aspects of quality teaching, teacher efficacy, and equity in education. STEM Lab is an open lab school and her classroom is visited by fellow teachers, district leadership, and area industry leaders who observe, collaborate, and create partnerships between the school and the community. Stephanie earned a B.A. in business from Franklin and Marshall College and an M.A. in elementary education from University of Colorado at Denver. She is a certified elementary school teacher. She is currently completing her K-12 Instructional Technology certification.

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