Priya Natarajan

Portland, ME | 7-12, Mathematics, 2017

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

I am deeply committed to helping all students believe in their own potential and to realize the power of STEM education. Progress is made throughout history not only through personal understanding and political awareness but also through scientific advances that help us become a better, healthier, more efficient society.

What has been the most transformative moment that affirmed your impact on STEM education?

The most transformative moment for me was the first time an alum came back and talked to me about how I had inspired them to pursue a STEM career, and pointed to the specific methods I had used to make them believe in themselves. Helping them to believe in themselves, supporting them in rigorous coursework, and then staying on as a support well after I taught them to talk through ideas or dreams--all of these actions were transformative to them and inspired me to keep going.

Using your platform as a Presidential Awardee, how do you hope to advance our nation in STEM?

I believe that STEM fields are for everyone and that our nation's progress in STEM depends on having as many students as possible be energized and educated about how science works and the kinds of work they can pursue. I am committed now as a principal to helping all students have access to rigorous curriculum so that they can feel prepared to enter whatever field they wish after high school and to engage more with local STEM partners to give students hands-on opportunities before graduation.

Biography

Priya Natarajan is currently the principal of Casco Bay High School. Over her 25 years as an educator, she has been an assistant principal, Dean of Students, and math teacher at Casco Bay High School, as well as a math teacher at Deering High School, a math instructional coach for Portland Public Schools, and a founding math teacher at the Boston Arts Academy in Boston Public Schools. Priya has enjoyed working with colleagues all over the district in a variety of capacities, including curriculum and assessment development and the recent transition to proficiency-based instruction and assessment. She has served on the district-wide vertical team working on the K-12 mathematics curriculum and on the statewide team to recruit more teachers for Maine. At Casco Bay, Priya served as one of the 10th-grade team's teacher leaders, facilitating the team's work across disciplines and connecting teachers to the leadership team. She also coached the mathematics team, works with the international Seeds of Peace program, and helps to foster collegiality and support for teachers as the school's Faculty Wellness Coordinator. In addition, she served as a Statistics and Calculus instructor at the University of Southern Maine. Priya earned a B.A. in mathematics from Ohio University and a M.Ed. in teaching and learning from Harvard University, in addition to graduate-level coursework at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, and the University of Southern Maine. She is certified in secondary mathematics and has her ELL endorsement.

High-resolution version of the official portrait photograph
Awardee holding Presidential certificate with National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources Assistant Director, Dr. Karen Marrongelle, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director, Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier, and National Science Foundation Chief Operating Officer, Dr. F. Fleming Crim
High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

The views expressed in awardee profiles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF or the PAEMST program.