Good teachers change lives, help dreams become realities, spark interest, shape careers, foster passion, love, and creativity, and build futures. As years pass and students come back to visit, teachers are reminded of the impact they have on young lives. Performance reviews and miscellaneous accolades help bolster self-esteem, yet good teachers at times question their ability. Are they good enough? As a recipient of the Presidential Award, the answer would be a resounding yes!

Susan Leifer Lee, NH | K-6, Mathematics, 2022

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

Susan Leifer has been an educator for 11 years and has spent the last nine years as a technology integrator at Mast Way Elementary School. Her first two years were spent at Leggee Elementary School. She currently teaches technology to kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Susan’s ability to simplify complex technology concepts into manageable lessons has made her an invaluable instructor to students and faculty alike. During her six years at Mast Way, she has grown the school from having a small computer lab of 25 machines to a fully 1:1 student/computer elementary school. Susan works to incorporate coding in kindergarten through fourth grade and believes that it is never too early to teach digital citizenship. Technology integration, not technology use, is Susan’s passion. In her classroom, she teaches lessons on proper computer use, digital citizenship, coding, graphic design, stop motion, robotics, and green screen. Susan has served as the Chair of the Technology Committee for six years and is also a member of the Oyster River Cooperative School District Communications Committee and Learning Management Committee. Susan earned a B.S. in communication from Boston University, a digital media specialist certification from Plymouth State University, and an M.Ed. from the University of New Hampshire. She is a certified elementary and middle school technology integrator.

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