Receiving the Presidential Award is a very humbling experience. This award represents my desire to be a life-long learner and the importance I believe science education has in early childhood education. Being an early childhood educator, I am privileged to witness young students' wonder about the world around them. This award validates my beliefs and deepens my passion to encourage all of my students to retain their sense of wonder about their world throughout their lifetime.

Rachel Welch Glenpool, OK | K-6, Science, 2022

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

Rachel Welch has been an educator for 16 years and has spent the last 10 years at Glenpool Elementary School. She spent the previous six years teaching prekindergarten and kindergarten at Chouteau Fine Arts Academy. Rachel’s love for early childhood education is evident as she has taught prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade. Currently, she is the kindergarten through second grade STEM educator for her entire district. In this role, Rachel organizes, plans, and implements high-quality STEM modules for approximately 680 students focused on real-world problems and applications. Authentic technology integration into all disciplines is a passion for Rachel. She has led professional development sessions at her school and her district, modeling effective uses of technology such as coding robots, creating movie trailers, and green screen technology. Rachel is an avid grant writer and has received over $50,000 in grants for hands-on materials to aid her students to gain mastery of concepts across all disciplines. She also helped co-author grants totaling $90,000 for her school and district. She serves on a variety of committees for her district including the STEM Advisory Committee and Professional Development Committee. During her career, Rachel has been recognized for her dedication to teaching in many ways. Rachel was the Glenpool District Teacher of the Year in 2018 and received the same award at her previous school in 2013. In addition, she was the SKIE Innovation in Education Tulsa Regionalist Winner in 2016. Rachel has a B.S., summa cum laude, in early childhood education from Oklahoma State University. She is certified to teach pre-kindergarten through third grade.

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