The Presidential Award means the world to me. It means I am on a path of growth, reflection, and dedication to my profession. It reinforces if I expect excellence from my students, I should expect nothing less from myself. This incredible honor is not reflective of just a single moment, but of the many people who believed in and poured into me. This award is a culmination of many things, most of all a desire to help my students know that success is within their reach and that I believe in them!

Marie Peaches Alexandria, VA | K-6, Science, 2022

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

Marie Peaches has been an educator for 24 years and has spent the last 20 years teaching mathematics and science at James K. Polk Elementary School. She is a fifth grade general education/special education inclusion teacher, serving students with autism and specific learning disabilities, integrated within her general population. She previously taught at schools in Ohio and North Carolina. Marie has written and recorded several educational songs that help make the curriculum more accessible to her students. The songs help students retain, recall, and remember difficult science and mathematics concepts. It is very rare to walk by her classroom and not hear students singing about moon phases, plate tectonics, or the ocean. Marie, with the help of her colleagues, was instrumental in helping pilot a program at her school in cooperation with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The program provided each student with a pocket-sized computer called a micro-bit and with a unique learning experience designed to teach students how to integrate coding into science. Marie was named Student Teacher of the Year at North Carolina A&T State University and is a National Board Certified Teacher. She has been a recipient of the teacher of the year award at James K. Polk Elementary and the Alexandria Excellence in Education Award. Marie serves on the Leadership Team and as a mentor to new and experienced teachers. Marie earned a B.S., cum laude, in education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and an M.Ed. in educational administration from the University of Akron. She is a certified elementary school teacher.

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