CRESTVIEW — Applications are being accepted for the 2017 Paul Hsu Foundation Teaching Excellence Awards in Math and Science — known as TEAMS — to be awarded in March.
This will be the third year the $5,000, no-strings-attached prize is awarded to North Okaloosa County high school STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — teachers.
But first, five north county elementary and middle school robotics teachers will be recognized later this month for inspiring potential engineers.
Okaloosa County engineer and philanthropist Dr. Paul Hsu will present five $1,000 teaching awards. They will recognize three Crestview teachers and one Baker and one Laurel Hill teacher.
“That’s a big deal and the start of something new and different,” Dennis Mitchell, Crestview Technology Air Park project executive and chairman of the chamber of commerce TEAMS committee, said.
“It’s to recognize them for what they do in our schools,” Mitchell said. “I am just thrilled about adding this to the STEM awards.”
One of the prize winners, Baker School robotics coach Stacy Burlison, said the recognition validates the effort that she and other area robotics instructors put into their programs.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into robotics so it’s nice to be recognized,” she said. “I’ve worked for several years to build the robotics program without compensation. It’s just a passion.”
START THEM YOUNG
More awards opportunities could be coming.
“Our goal is to recruit eight or 10 companies in the area to support their own awards in robotics programming for next year,” Mitchell said. “We want every middle and elementary school in north Okaloosa to have a supported robotics program.”
Hsu, who recently met with vice presidential candidate and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to discuss robotics education, learned at a science meeting that starting students’ engineering training early is critical.
“The earlier you start children on these sorts of programs, the more likely they are to remain in technical programs,” Mitchell said. “The girls are twice as likely to stay in.”
The kids aren’t the only ones learning robotics.
“I went to school to be a physics teacher and I fell into robotics, so I’m learning along with the kids,” Burlison said. “They teach me more than I can ever teach them. It’s great.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: New award recognizes North Okaloosa robotics teachers