Amanda Rapstad

Belgrade, MT | K-6, Science, 2022

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

I'm driven to inspire students to see themselves as capable problem solvers, no matter their age. I love watching them develop real-world solutions that make a difference in their communities. I want my students to understand that they are never too young to use skills like engineering to make their lives better.

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

One of my most transformative experiences in STEM education was through the Looks Like Me grant in partnership with my local university. The goal was to show students that engineering is everywhere—and that anyone can be an engineer. I collaborated with local engineers and university faculty to design lessons focused on real-world problem solving. Our first challenge was developing air cleaning filters for a nearby community affected by wildfire smoke. Through this work, my students applied the engineering design process to help others and, most powerfully, began to see themselves as engineers.

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

As a Presidential Awardee, I hope to inspire students to use their STEM skills to solve meaningful problems and improve their communities. I aim to collaborate with educators to design impactful, real-world learning experiences that empower students as change-makers. I want both my students and the community to recognize that even our youngest learners deserve a seat at the table when it comes to innovation and problem solving.

Biography

Amanda Rapstad has been an educator for 18 years and has spent the last nine years teaching in Belgrade, MT where she teaches all subjects of fourth grade. She began her teaching career in Arizona where she taught first and third grade for nine years. Amanda’s passion for education lies in fostering lifelong learning amongst her students. She believes that learning should be exciting, engaging, and relevant and provides her students with bountiful opportunities to engage in authentic experiences. Recently, through a partnership with Montana State University’s science and engineering departments, Amanda’s students solved real-world problems by engineering filters to clean the air after a wildfire damaged much of a local town. Her students spoke with local engineers and discussed issues in the community and gave input on how they would use engineering design to solve problems. A lifelong learner, Amanda can be found participating in book clubs and professional learning communities, presenting at conferences, working on her district’s curriculum team, or mentoring teachers new to the profession. In 2018 Amanda received the Distinguished Teacher - Regular Education award from the Montana Council of Administrators of Special Education for her work with students in the special education program in the general classroom setting. Amanda has a B.S. in elementary education from Montana State University, and an M.Ed. in school leadership and an M.Ed. in educational technology, both from Northern Arizona University. She holds a National Board Certification in literacy: reading-language arts. She is certified in kindergarten through eighth grade elementary education.

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.