The Presidential Award is validation of my life's passion and work. The award is an outward sign of my dedication to the art form of teaching and to the students that I was lucky enough to have in my classroom. I now understand that teaching and learning requires a delicate balance between content, pedagogy, inspiration, and love.  I could not have accomplished all I have without the love and support of my family, my friends, my colleagues, and even a critic every once in a while.

Bjorg Remmers-Seymour Rapid City, SD | 7-12, Mathematics, 2015

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

Bjorg Remmers-Seymour has been teaching K–12 mathematics for the past 14 years. She spent the last two years teaching 8th grade mathematics at East Middle School. She is currently a full time student at Black Hills State University. Bjorg’s passion for mathematics education comes from a desire for students to see the beauty of mathematics and be confident in their ability to think and reason. She has used this passion to develop a classroom culture centered on student discourse, collaboration, and a growth mindset. Bjorg has been a leader in professional development. She was a member of the Professional Learning Committee that won the Innovative Team Award for the Rapid City Area School District, and she won the Rapid City Area School’s Educator of the Year for the 2014–15 school year. She has also hosted Learning Labs for in-district and out-of-district teachers. Bjorg has presented professional development to teachers at the district, state, and national level, specifically at the South Dakota State Math Conference and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics national conference in Boston, MA. Bjorg earned a B.S., summa cum laude, in education from Black Hills State University. She is certified in kindergarten through 8th grade elementary education and in 5th through 8th grade middle level language arts, social science, natural science, and mathematics, as well as 7–12 mathematics.

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