The Presidential Award is a lifetime achievement award, one of being recognized as an exemplary teacher in the field of education. It means joining a group of other distinguished educators around the country that are dedicated and passionate about what they do and committed to sharing their passion. It means having the opportunity to share my passion and excitement about teaching and learning with others as we continue to strive for excellence and growth on this incredible lifelong journey.

Linda Shamy Scottsdale, AZ | K-6, Mathematics, 2022

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

Linda “Stephanie” Shamy has been in education for 30 years. She started teaching in 1994 at Laguna Elementary School. She spent 21 years as a third grade teacher and has served as Laguna’s Gifted Specialist for the last nine years. Stephanie teaches Accelerated Math and Integrated Reading for third through fifth grade gifted and high-achieving students. She supports STEAM and Makerspace at all grade levels by working directly with students, modeling in classrooms, mentoring, and coaching teachers. Stephanie integrates real life learning experiences for her students. She developed a classroom management system where students become entrepreneurs, develop companies, and use cash, checks, and spreadsheets to manage transactions. She plans project-based learning units for her classes using the Makerspace, recycled materials, coding, and 3D printers that allow students to integrate content knowledge into hands-on projects solving real-world problems. Her students work with biomedical engineers to design working prosthetics for clients. Stephanie has presented at a national conference on Character Counts!, a state social studies technology integration conference, and presented three times at the Arizona Gifted State Conference. She participates annually in professional development related to arts integration, then shares with colleagues through collaboration and workshops. Stephanie received her B.A. in education from Arizona State University and her M.Ed. in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. She has early childhood, English as a Second Language (ESL), and gifted endorsements. She is a National Board Certified Teacher in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood.

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