The Presidential Award is a reflection of the countless hours past students, families, mentors, colleagues, and administrators have invested in my success. It is also a reflection of the staggering inequalities that educators and students must overcome to simply engage in education. This recognition serves as a reminder to all that educating the future of our great nation is an expertise built through a nurturing and supportive community.

Jonathan Smith Leonardtown, MD | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

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

Jonathan Smith has taught STEM at St. Mary’s Ryken High School for eight years. He spent the previous 14 years teaching across the Pacific at Molokai High School, The University of Hawai’i, Saipan Southern High School, Mt. Carmel School, and Northern Marianas College. He also taught one year at Midland School. He has maintained the highest level of mathematics and science teacher certifications throughout. Jonathan’s passion for culturally-relevant education is embraced by colleagues and 9-12 grade mathematics and engineering students. He provides the opportunity to explore advanced concepts through students' own lenses. Jonathan’s students collaboratively research and present multiple representations of STEM concepts; they develop the courage to share their story using STEM as the vector. His students say, “He has been the first teacher ever to have such a passionate way of teaching,” and “his courses are very interactive and applied to the real world.” With over 20 years of professional development, Jonathan has an unparalleled array of STEM applications. Joining the Polynesian Voyaging Society and crewing the Hikianalia taught him to share the ethos of traditional wayfinding techniques and evoke students’ curiosity of ethnomathematics. Six years of lesson study protocol instilled a foundation of cross curricular collaboration, focused on awakening student voice and choice every day. Most recently, Jonathan attended College Board Dream Deferred conference to build research based pedagogical methods to boost the success of all students. Jonathan earned a B.S. in mathematics from Black Hills State University, an M.A. in secondary mathematics education from Western Governor’s University, and was accepted to the Ph.D. mathematics program at University of Hawai’i Manoa.

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