The Presidential Award is a lifetime achievement. The process of being evaluated on a lesson-in-action makes this feel more like a certification of excellence rather than an award. Knowing that exemplar educators reviewed my class and selected me for this award is an honor. The Presidential Award is a showcase of the excellent math and science teachers in our country and a great way to honor the hard work and dedication of these educators.

Jessica Strom Erskine, MN | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

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

Jessica Strom has taught her entire 21-year career at the Win-E-Mac School in middle and high school mathematics. She continues to teach at Win-E-Mac with an assortment of classes including Algebra 1 and 2 and concurrent enrollment classes of College Algebra and Trigonometry. Jessica's classroom is a student-centered environment where students work in groups to explore and engage with the mathematics task of the day. Many units end with a task that allows students to use and see the mathematics they just learned, like Barbie Bungee and Catapulting Gummi Bears. Her class has a culture where students stay engaged and curious about mathematics and feel safe to explore their ideas. Outside of her classroom, Jessica hosts a family mathematics night for kindergarten through sixth grade students and families from her school. She is also exploring the relationship between culture and mathematics. She has worked with the kindergarten teacher to have students and their families create cultural story cards with manipulatives to then be used in the classroom. Her senior mathematics class studies the Bishop 6 and conducts cultural interviews with people from different cultures, with each other, and then with their own family members. Jessica is a member of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), formerly as the Region 7 director, and currently as the High School Vice-President. She also offers professional development for K-12 mathematics teachers during the school year, summer months, and at the annual MCTM conference. Jessica has her B.S. in mathematics from the University of Minnesota, Morris and her M.S. in mathematics from Bemidji State University. She is certified in 5-12 mathematics.

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