Lainey Hodge

Monroe, LA | 7-12, Mathematics, 2023

What motivates you to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching?

One thing that motivates me to contribute to excellence in STEM teaching is the opportunity to cultivate critical thinking and creativity within students. Possessing these skills allows students to become innovative thinkers and lifelong learners.

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

As a Presidential Awardee, I hope to advance our nation in STEM education by making it more accessible to students of all pathways. I hope to make opportunities and resources for STEM experiences more prevalent so that students can engage in STEM learning more often.

Biography

Lainey Hodge is currently the Curriculum Coordinator at Sterlington High School. She taught mathematics for 15 years. Her teaching experience includes three years in the classroom at Sterlington High, three years at Ouachita Parish High, six years at Haughton High, and her first three years at Minden High School. Lainey has taught Algebra I, Algebra III, Advanced Math, Financial Literacy, Geometry, Math Essentials, and Precalculus. Lainey is a mentor teacher and content leader who facilitates school and districtwide professional development (PD) to new and veteran teachers and provides ongoing curriculum implementation support in Ouachita Parish. She is a teacher leader advisor for the Louisiana Department of Education and collaborates with fellow advisors statewide to review 9-12 mathematics curricula. Additionally, she works with Rivet Education, Inc. to review PD on high-quality instructional materials. As a lifelong learner, Lainey continually seeks new and exciting ways of engaging students in mathematics content while maintaining rigor in the classroom. Her instructional routines include strategically questioning students as they discover mathematical concepts and fostering student discourse through the learning process. Lainey earned a B.S. in biology education from Louisiana Tech University and an M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction with a STEM concentration from Louisiana State University Shreveport. She is certified in secondary mathematics, secondary biology, mentor teacher, content leader, and educational leadership. She was recognized as the 2023 Outstanding High School Teacher by the Louisiana Association of Teachers of Mathematics and the 2014 Region 7 Secondary Teacher of the Year by the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators.

High-resolution version of the teacher profile photograph

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