The Presidential Award is a recognition of the high expectations I have for my students and myself, as well as the extra hours it has taken to create an engaging class that fulfills the needs of my students. I have tried to structure the class so that they think critically about their learning and the skills they are developing, rather than just focusing on grades. I hope this award will inspire them to be excellent whenever they have the chance.

Wesley Morgan Springville, UT | 7-12, Science, 2023

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

Wesley Morgan has been a teacher at Springville High School since 2017. He teaches NGSS-aligned Physics and has grown the Advanced Placement enrollment to over 80 students per year, including AP Physics 1 and 2. He is certified to teach Spanish Immersion and has just started a Bilingual Physics class. He has mentored two student teachers who have both been hired to teach science in Utah. Wesley helps run the schoolwide Quiz Bowl tournament, which encourages hundreds of students to study academic and popular trivia. He coached the school Science Bowl team, which took fourth place at the state competition. Wesley has been a student council advisor for six years, directing dances, assemblies, and pageants in order to promote school spirit among students and the community. He has planned service projects for students with severe disabilities, taught science lessons at elementary schools, and raised thousands of dollars for charity. Wesley is a leader for physics teachers at the district and state levels. He oversees monthly collaboration for all physics teachers in Nebo School District, and he has presented twice at the Utah Science Teachers Association conference. He led a team to design 17 phenomenon-based assessments for the state of Utah, and he has written 150 items for official AP Physics practice tests. Wesley earned a B.S., magna cum laude, in physics teaching from Brigham Young University (BYU) and is currently a master’s degree candidate in educational leadership. At BYU, he was mentored by Duane Merrell, former president of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Wesley was also an assistant for the Teaching Science in Grades K-6 course, and he helped conduct research on the science content knowledge of elementary teachers at various stages in their career.

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