This Presidential Award is given to teachers who create innovative lessons that allow students to maximize their STEM learning and are leaders beyond the classroom. I have challenged myself to continually learn and grow as an educator in order to support my students and become a teacher-leader locally and nationally. Being selected as a recipient of this award is the pinnacle of my teaching career and will provide me with the unique opportunity of learning even more from my fellow recipients.

Susan Scott Lexington, SC | 7-12, Mathematics, 2023

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

Susan Scott has been a mathematics teacher at White Knoll High School for the past 17 years. Prior to this, she taught mathematics for seven years at Socastee High School. Along with teaching three classes a day, Susan serves as Dean of the Mathematics Department at White Knoll High School. As dean, she is the instructional leader of her department and supports teachers with curriculum and teaching. Susan currently teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB and BC, Algebra 2, and Foundations in Algebra to a range of 9th-12th grade students. As a former electrical engineer, Susan helps her students see how the concepts that they are learning in class can be applied in real world settings. This includes projects such as having her calculus students optimize the size of a can, and creating models of solids formed when a region is rotated across a coordinate axis. Projects that involve the collection and representation of data help her algebra students visualize and understand concepts. Susan has scored AP Calculus Exams nationally for the past eight years and uses this experience to lead professional development sessions for her school district to make other AP Calculus teachers aware of curriculum changes and to guide them in the latest scoring practices. Susan was one of twelve teachers selected nationally to serve on a council to increase the recruitment and retention of teachers of color and co-presented her findings from the South Carolina Design Studio at a national showcase. Susan earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University, an M.Ed. in secondary education mathematics from Coastal Carolina University, and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of South Carolina, She is certified in mathematics.

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