It is truly an honor and a humbling experience to be nominated for this award. It means that I was successful in impacting a child’s learning journey in a profound enough way that someone took time to note it. That brings me joy because that is why I am here every day. I want to positively impact the lives of the children who walk through my doors. I want them to see their successes and growth, to love this learning journey they are on, and to know I am here to support them along the way.

Heather Baker Soldotna, AK | K-6, Science, 2022

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

Heather Baker has been an educator for 10 years and spent the last five years teaching a multi-age fourth and fifth grade classroom at K-Beach Elementary School. Previously, she taught for five years at Nikiski North Star Elementary School. As a core member of her district’s CHAMPS Leadership Team, Heather facilitates and presents professional development aimed at raising up teacher leaders. Her expertise focuses on helping teachers implement student-driven, project-based learning in cross-content units with an emphasis on elementary science topics. She has presented on this topic at state and local conferences. As a migrant education tutor, she ran the STEM club at K-Beach and helped with family nights. She also spent time teaching underprivileged high school youth how to code through Upstream Academy. In her classroom, affectionately called “PortableLand” by students, it is evident students are engaged in bringing their learning to life and making real-world connections in mathematics and science. Students have designed and built tables, benches, terrariums, plant and animal habitats, and a weather station. They create partnerships with local and national businesses to acquire needed supplies and background knowledge to complete their projects. Heather then connects students to experts in their field of study to present their projects, encouraging them to seek and utilize feedback that helps them grow. In her classroom, each student's learning journey is unique. Heather earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington and an M.A.T. from the University of Southern California. She was the Civil Air Patrol's ACE (Aerospace Connections in Education), 2019 Teacher of the Year, and an Alaska Teacher of the Year finalist for 2023.

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