I am honored to be recognized as a Presidential Award recipient. Winning this award means that the time reflecting upon and honing my teaching practice has been worth it and is recognized by the President and NSF. It validates my passion for encouraging critical thinking, focusing on place-based, relevant science instruction, and encouraging underrepresented students to pursue careers in STEM. I am also grateful to my students who continue to inspire me and remind me that the future is bright.

Rachel Stagner Washington, DC | 7-12, Science, 2023

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

Rachel Stagner has taught science for the past five years at Templeton Academy. She spent the previous 10 years teaching at McDaniel High School in Portland, Oregon. During the 2018-2019 school year, Rachel served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at NASA Headquarters in the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. Rachel has taught a variety of subjects at Templeton, most recently Biology, Climate Science, and STEM Project Development to 9th-12th grade students. In addition, she has served as the STEM Coordinator, helping to design the STEM curriculum and science sequence for its Washington, DC, and Nashville, TN, locations. Rachel is passionate about empowering and encouraging students to think critically and connect science to their everyday lives through project-based learning and fieldwork. She is committed to increasing the number of underrepresented students who pursue science as a career choice and using STEM education to address issues of social and environmental justice. This summer, she is excited to lead her first student research trip to Costa Rica to study the effect of climate change on caterpillars with Earthwatch. Rachel served as an Oregon Science Teachers Association Board Member and has presented professional development sessions at local, state, and national conferences. She is a recipient of the Robert Noyce Teaching Scholarship, an M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Partners in Science Teacher-Researcher Grant, the Society for Science & the Public STEM Research Grant, and the Earthwatch Project Kindle Fellowship. Rachel has a B.S. in fisheries and wildlife management with a minor in environmental studies from Michigan State University. She has an M.S. in teaching and an M.Ed. in secondary education from Portland State University.

Know a great teacher like Rachel Stagner? Nominate them for PAEMST!