The Presidential Award validates educators' efforts to strive for excellence and ensure student growth. It is an honor to be recognized and included in this esteemed cohort. The Presidential Award reflects the dedication of the colleagues I am grateful to work alongside, who value the importance of collaborating and sharing best practice, and highlights the student body I am fortunate to teach.

Rachel Hamer APO, AE | DoDEA | 7-12, Mathematics, 2021

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

Rachel Hamer began her career in teaching 18 years ago at the Community College of Rhode Island, where she taught for two years. In the following two years, Rachel taught at the College of Staten Island as well as a semester for St. Joseph College of New York. Shortly after relocating overseas, she taught briefly at the American School of The Hague, and has been in her current teaching position at AFNorth International School, a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school, for 10 years. Currently teaching Math 8, Algebra 1 and Precalculus, Rachel enjoys implementing memorable lessons that maximize student engagement. She intrigues students with a statistical analysis of how many rubber bands it takes to sever a pumpkin, and entices them with homemade cookies prepared for a rich task about systems of equations. Rachel's classroom is a safe space to express mathematical thought, where risks and mistakes are part of learning and the end goal is to build student confidence. As a member of the Instructional Leadership Team, Rachel has developed strategies and interventions to support learning and seeks opportunities to combine her knowledge of mathematical instruction, technology, and best practices to enhance student achievement. Rachel has been nominated for DoDEA Europe West Teacher of the Year and continues to be committed to her professional growth and meeting the ever-changing needs of her students. She sponsors the afterschool mathematics tutoring program and coaches the Mathcounts team, who placed second in this year's chapter competition. Rachel earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in mathematics, from William Paterson University, and an M.A. in teaching mathematics from Providence College. She is a certified secondary education teacher of mathematics.

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