To me, the Presidential Award is a pinnacle achievement of excellence in teaching. Besides a thank you note from a current student or a letter from a past student who appreciates the small part I played in their success, I could think of no greater honor than the Presidential Award! Teaching is a great gig - I get to work with young people, be a positive influence in their life, and help them build their future. I can't think of a more rewarding way to spend my life.

Meg Fleischmann Pocatello, ID | 7-12, Science, 2021

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

Meg Fleischmann started her teaching career at Irving Middle School. After teaching life science at Irving for three years, she moved to Century High School. She has been teaching science at Century for 22 years and currently teaches ninth grade Physical Science, 10th-12th grade Outdoor Education, and 9th-12th grade Student Leadership. Meg believes that a classroom must be an exciting and engaging place. She makes simple shifts in instruction so students can learn material together through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. After years of instructing teachers in the Common Core and refining strategies in her own classroom, she was asked to train new teachers. Her current course is titled "Literacy Strategies for Student Engagement and Distinguished Teaching". In her classroom, Meg designs small group activities like Game Cards or Evidence Envelopes for students to actively work together. During this time, she moves around the room questioning, motivating, and interacting with students. Meg's daily goal is for her students to smile and think together. Meg was also the Century STEM Club Advisor and worked with Idaho State University (ISU) in a STEM partnership. STEM club students would meet at ISU to explore various STEM related fields. Meg received a B.S. in biology and an M.S. in physical education from ISU. During her 21 years of teaching, she has served as a department chair, district writing coach, basketball coach, Murdock Trust Grant recipient, TreeHugger advisor, dual enrollment instructor, and Faculty Senate member. Meg was the Century Teacher of the Year in 2016 and was awarded a Master Educator by the state in 2019. Meg is a certified secondary education teacher and is certified to teach biology, physical science, natural science, and chemistry.

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